'^K'^ra 




LIBRARY OF CONmiESS. 



M 



(JTljap. / tS" 



No, 



gUXITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



SECOND SERIES 



DEEDS OF MVAL DARIIG 



ui* 



OR, 



ANECDOTES OF THE BRITISH MVY. 



By EDWARD GIFFARD, Esq., 

AUTHOR OF 
' SHORT VISIT TO THE lOXTAN ISLANDS, ATHENS, ANT) THE IMOP.EA.' 




LONDON: 

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 

1854, 



>'fA-^^ 



LONDON : WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET, 
AND CHARING CROSS. 



[ 



CONTENTS. 



Page 
Santa Margaretta with l'Amazone .... 209 

The Pirate Slaver 212 

The Grappler at the Chaussez Isles . . .219 

Capture of the Firme ....... 223 

Presence of Mind ..-,.... 226 

COLPOYS AND THE MUTINY AT SpITHEAD . . . 230 
ESPOIR WITH LiGURIA 238 

A Douglas dies 242 

The Challenge . 243 

"i have done it, and am alive " .... 246 

The Polar Eegions . 251 

Defiance and Centurion with two French Ships . 254 

The Private Ship of War 257 

Mr. A'Court 262 

Capture of the St. Pedro 263 

Catching a Tartar 271 

Blake 272 

The Young Pretender . . . . . . .280 

Destruction of the Buccaneers ..... 282 

The Tables Turned 286 

Isis and Zele 289 

Admiral Macbride 290 

. Foul- WEATHER Jack 295 

Glatton with Six Ships . . . . . .298 



Vi CONTE 


NTS. 






Page 

Boats of Quebec off Heligoland .... .302 


A Pithy Speech . . . 




306 


Running the Gauntlet . . . . 




307 


Death of Sir Peter Parker 




308 


Com us with Frederichsw^rn 




314 


Death of Lieut. Hawkey . . . 




323 


Mediator with Five Ships . 






326 


Flamborough and Bideford 
l'Omphale . 


WITH MalICTEUSE 


ANL 


330 


The Sailor's Bible 






334 


Southampton and Utile 






335 


Capture of Amoy . 






338 


The bold Ee-capture 






341 


Defence of the Alexander . 






344 


The Siege of Louisbourg 






347 


Defence of the Pulteney 


. 




352 


Salted Heads . 


. 




354 


First of June, 1666 






357 


Solebay Fight 






359 


Poor Jack Spratt . 






362 


The Duchess of Devonshire' 


s Escape 




365 


Terpsichore Bowen 






367 


Sir John Hawkins 






371 


The Intrepid Boatswain 


. 




375 


Sir Humphrey Gilbert . 






377 


The Honour of the Flag 






380 


Sir John Berry 






382 



DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 



SANTA MARGARETTA AND L'AMAZONE. 

At dawn of day on the 29th of July, 1781, the 
British frigate Santa Margaretta, commanded by 
Captain EUiot Salter, made sail in chase of a 
strange sail on the coast of America. On ap- 
proaching within one mile and a half, she was 
discovered to be a French frigate of equal force ; 
and almost at the same moment eight ships of the 
line were seen bearing down under a crowd of sail. 
Not much time was lost in deliberation, and, after 
a short consultation with his officers. Captain 
Salter wore ship, and turned his back upon the 
enemy, having not only an enemy but, that which 
by a sailor is more dreaded, a lee-shore to en- 
counter. The frigate which he had at first chased, 
and which far outsailed the rest of the fleet, now in 
her turn pursued ; but at three o'clock in the after- 
noon tacked and stood back to rejoin them. As 
they had by this time lost sight of the large ships 
from the mast-head — the weather being very clear, 
and as his officers and men expressed an eager 
desire to bring the French frigate to action — Cap- 
tain Salter determined to tack and stand after her 



210 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 



for that purpose: this being observed by the 
Frenchman, he instantly re-tacked, in order to 
accept the daring challenge. Both frigates were 
of equal force as to number of guns, but the enemy 
had more men ; her shot were heavier, and she was 
encouraged by having a fleet at her back ; whereas 
the British captain ran a risk which even success 
could hardly justify ; for should his ship meet with 
those disasters which generally attend an engage- 
ment, he was almost sure, even if victorious in the 
single combat, of not escaping from the enemy's ad- 
vancing fleet. Prudential reasons, however, had no 
weight with the commander and his gallant crew, 
and'at five o'clock the action commenced, the two 
ships being within a cable's length of each other. 
The French gave the first broadside, while Captain 
Salter reserved his until he had an opportunity of 
raking his enemy while wearing ; having succeeded 
in this, he closed within pistol-shot, at which dis- 
tance the contest was maintained for an hour and a 
quarter, when the French frigate was silenced and 
compelled to strike her colours, and proved to be 
L'Amazone, of 36 guns and 301 men. Every 
exertion was now made to repair the damages 
they had so recently been anxious to effect, and 
to remove the prisoners from the prize ; but want 
of boats, and the very shattered condition of the 
Amazone (she having lost her main and mizen 
masts) rendered this impracticable in time, sixty- 
eight prisoners only having been transferred when 
the Santa Margaretta, at break of the following 



SAXTA MARGARETTA AKD L'AIMAZOXE. 211 

day, discovered the whole hostile fleet close upon 
her. Hitherto she had had the prize in tow, but 
now, recalling her own men, Captain Salter reluc- 
tantly ordered the hawser to be cut, and aban- 
doned her, having previously destroyed all the rig- 
ging that remained standing. Time and circum- 
stances only had prevented him from removing 
all the prisoners and burning her to prevent her 
recapture. 

Captain Salter, in his official letter, pays a high 
tribute to the ^' gallant and officer-like conduct of 
Visconte de Montguiote in leading his ship into 
action." This officer was killed early in the fight, 
when the second in command, the Chevalier de 
Lepine, " did everything that an experienced 
officer in his situation could possibly do, and did 
not surrender until himself and all his officers 
save one, and about half his ship's company, were 
either killed or wounded," while his masts were so 
crippled as to be in danger of going over the side 
every moment, several guns were dismounted, and 
he had four feet water in the hold— ^^ a situation 
sufficiently bad to justify to his king and country 
the necessity of surrender." 

The damages of the English frigate were trifling, 
and she easily escaped from her pursuers. Her 
loss in killed and wounded was one officer and four 
men killed and seventeen wounded; while the 
French ship, from the statement of her own 
officers, lost about seventy killed, and between 
seventv and eighty wounded. 

p 2 



212 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARmG. 

Captain Salter's action claims a proud pre-emi- 
nence in our naval annals : I can find no similar 
contest in any of our wars. Captain Bowen, in 
the Terpsichore, is the nearest approach to it ; but 
Captain Bowen only suspected the propinquity of 
a superior force when he engaged the Mahonesa. 
Captain Salter had seen his foes, and knew they 
must come down upon him ; but he still persisted, 
and although complete success did not crown his 
intrepidity, fortune yet befriended him sufficiently 
to enable him to carry off, in the shape of prisoners, 
a substantial proof of what he had effected. 



THE PIRATE SLAVER, 



Some of my readers may remember that a few 
years since — that is to say, in the year 1832 — the 
newspapers were full of an atrocious case of piracy 
and would-be murder. The vessel attacked on 
the high seas was an American, called the Mexi- 
can, and belonged to the town of Salem, in Massa- 
chusetts. The pirates having boarded and pillaged 
her of a rich freight of dollars, secured, as they 
thought, the hatches over the crew, and then, 
having destroyed all her rigging and her only 
boat, they arranged matters so as to insure the 
ship taking fire shortly after they quitted her ; but 
an overruling Providence defeated their murderous 
intentions : the pirates had neglected securing the 
cabin skylight, and the crew, as soon as they per- 
ceived from the silence reigning on deck that their 



THE PIRATE SLAVER. 213 

enemies were gone, crept through on deck only 
just in time to save their lives, and the vessel from 
destruction. They then by great exertion put 
their vessel in some order, and succeeded in reach- 
ing their destination, whence the news of the out- 
rage was soon bruited far and wide, with a tole- 
rably minute description of the schooner by which 
it had been committed. 

Amongst others to whom this intelligence was 
communicated was Captain Trotter, then com- 
manding the English ship Curlew on the coast of 
Africa, who, on reading the account in an Ame- 
rican newspaper, felt satisfied that a Spanish 
vessel, called the Panda, then supposed to be lying 
in the river Nazareth, was the guilty schooner, and 
he accordingly immediately proceeded in search of 
her ; and in the prosecution of his object, viz., the 
capture of the pirates, gave occasion for the enter- 
prise which brings this narrative within the cata- 
logue of deeds of naval daring. 

Arriving off the mouth of the river on the night 
of the 3rd June, 1833, three boats, manned and 
armed, left the ship, under the command of Cap- 
tain Trotter in person, and, after a heavy pull, per- 
ceived about daylight a vessel lying a mile further up 
the stream : the current was running very strong, 
and some time elapsed before they got alongside, 
during which they saw the crew take to their 
boats, and escape to the shore. Unsuccessful in 
an attempt to intercept them, the Curlew's boats 
returned to the deserted vessel, which they found 



214 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

with trains laid to the magazines, and matches 
lighted ; and had it not been for the promptitude 
of one of the seamen, who jumped below and threw 
the lighted matches on deck, the boarding-party 
would have been blown into the air. As it was^ 
they succeeded in extinguishing the fire ; and 
although there were no appearances on board to 
justify the vessel being seized under slave-trade 
treaties, yet the fact of her desertion by her crew, 
and their attempt to destroy her, decided Captain 
Trotter in seizing her as the pirate vessel. But 
without the capture of the pirates themselves, of 
whom the presumed captain was one Pedro Gibert, 
the work was but half effected. As the king or 
chief of the town of Nazareth refused to surrender 
them, after an unsuccessful effort to obtain them 
by force of arms, in which, owing to the magazine 
of the Panda (for ii^ that vessel they made the 
attack) blowing up, by which accident they lost 
many valuable lives, and most of their firearms, 
Captain Trotter was obliged to retreat and endea- 
vour to effect his object by stratagem. Returning 
to Fernando Po, he secured the co-operation of 
Captain Fatio, of the Princess Elizabeth, a mer- 
chant vessel ; and placing Mr. Matson, one of his 
mates, with a party of seamen on board that 
vessel, in addition to her crew, he despatched her 
to Nazareth with the avowed object of trading, 
hoping that some of the pirates, or even the king 
and his head men might go on board for that pur- 
pose, and thus be easily detained prisoners. Art? 



THE PIRATE SLAVER. 215 

riving in the river, Mr. Matson found the suspicions 
of the natives were roused, although the Princess 
Elizabeth looked as unlike a man of- war as any 
vessel could be, and while many canoes came out 
to reconnoitre the strange vessel, none could be 
induced to approach near. Under these circum- 
stances the only plan to lull suspicion appeared to 
be to land and ask for a pilot to take the ship to a 
proper anchorage ; and Mr. Matson accordingly 
left the vessel disguised as the mate of a merchant 
vessel, in a red shirt and Scotch cap, with a boat's 
crew of two trustworthy seamen and two Kroomen, 
who were instructed to address him as ''Mister" 
instead of '' Sir," while he more familiarly hailed 
them as Bill and Jim. Aware of the risk he ran, 
Mr. Matson, before he left, addressed the following 
letter to Captain Trotter, which displays so deter- 
mined a devotion to his duty that it deserves being 
given at length. It was as follows : — 

" Sir " Cape Lopez, Sept. 24th, 1833. 

" As I am about to proceed on what may 
possibly prove a dangerous expedition, I have left 
a few lines to explain what our movements have 
been. We arrived at our rendezvous on the 20th 
I left on the 21st ; I arrived here on the 22nd 
the natives are evidently very suspicious of us 
several canoes have reconnoitred us, but none 
would approach the vessel ; therefore I conceive 
the only way to lull their suspicions is to go on 
' shore and ask if they have any trade to make, and 



216 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

gain what information I can respecting Don Pedro ; 
if I see him I shall offer to exchange cloth, &c., for 
dollars, to induce him to come on board. I shall 
of course be guided by circumstances, and act to 
the best of my judgment. If I am detained I 
think it would be better to trust to chance for an 
escape, and not sacrifice any more lives in carrying 
on what would prove an unequal warfare. I hope 
you will excuse my attempting to give advice, I 
only request that no lives may be lost on my 
account. If they think proper to make me suffer 
the fate of a spy, write to my friends and say I 
have done my duty. With kind regards to all 
shipmates, I remain your sincere friend and well- 
wisher, 

" H. I. Matson. 

«' To Captain Trotter, H.M. Sloop Curlew." 

When he had landed, Mr. Matson's attention 
was attracted by the gentlemanly appearance of a 
person, apparently a Spaniard, who was the first 
to salute him, bestowing upon him at the same 
time a most scrutinising glance. This was no 
other than the object of pursuit, Don Pedro 
Gibert, captain of the Panda. Unsuspecting the 
man's identity, and unconscious of being himself 
suspected, Mr. Matson passed on to the king's 
residence, and stating the professed object of his 
visit, viz., trade, requested that a pilot might be 
sent to conduct his vessel to the proper anchorage, 



THE PIRATE SLAVER. 217 

and that the king himself would come on board 
to receive the customary presents. While the 
interview was going on, several appearances of 
suspicion arose, but Mr. Matson lulled them all, 
and left the royal presence accompanied by the 
king's youthful son and the required pilot. On 
his return to the beach the same Spaniard met 
him in company with several others, and asked 
him to go into a house in the neighbourhood. 
Then for the first time a suspicion of their identity 
flashed across Mr. Matson's mind. He hesitated 
whether to make a dash for the boat or accept the 
invitation, but resolved on the latter course, and 
entered boldly. He was most strictly questioned 
as to the movements of the men-of-war on the 
coast, and especially of the Curlew ; and his 
answers being given unreservedly and accurately, 
and corresponding with the pirate's previous infor- 
mation on the subject from other sources, their 
alarm was quieted, and he was permitted to leave 
unmolested, in company with the prince and pilot, 
and return to the Elizabeth, where his lengthened 
absence had given rise to fears for his safety. 

His hostage now secured, Mr. Matson had not 
long to wait for the Curlew's arrival ; and the next 
day both vessels stood in, and a formal demand 
was made for the surrender of the Spaniards. 
Evasion and delay were resorted to by his sable 
majesty : on the one hand he was influenced by the 
threats and promises of the pirates, on the other 
by the love he felt for his favourite son. Nature 



218 DEEDS OF ^AVAL DARING. 

at last triumphed, and Don Pedro and three others 
of the Panda's crew were sent off in exchange for 
Prince Narskim, who was dismissed in a complete 
suit of naval uniform, and full of gratitude for the 
kindness shown him during his detention. Having 
thus narrated Mr. Matson's deed of daring, it only 
remains for me to add that^ thanks to the perse- 
verance and zeal of Captain Trotter, the greater 
part of the Panda's crew were taken, and sent to 
America for trial; where the captain, Pedro Gi- 
bert ; mate, De Soto ; and five others, were sen- 
tenced to death. The mate's life was spared, in con- 
sideration of his having been previously the means 
of saving the crew of an American vessel, for which 
action he had received a medal from the Govern- 
ment, but the remainder were executed. This 
whole story is full of interest, and will well repay 
a reference to the pages of the Nautical Maga- 
zine for 1851, in which the details of the Curlew's 
eventful cruise, and the capture and trial of the 
pirate band, are given at much length. 

While writing the above, the. intelligence of 
Captain Matson's death from yellow fever, while 
in command of the Highflyer at Barbadoes, has 
reached this country. Active, enterprising, and a 
thorough seaman, his loss must be deeply de- 
plored ; and though there may be many officers 
in the lists of our Navy to equal, none, we think, 
will be found to excel him. 



DEFENCE OF THE GRAPPLER. 219 



THE GRAPPLER AT THE CHAUSSEZ ISLES. 

The Chaussez Isles, a scattered group of rocks 
scarcely inhabited, about nine miles from the port 
of Granville and twenty from the island of Jersey, 
was, in the month of December, 1803, the scene of 
the following action, which called forth the admi- 
ration of the enemy, and was even noticed by 
Buonaparte, at that time First Consul : — 

The Grappler, being under the command of 
Lieutenant Abel Wontner Thomas, had been de- 
spatched by Admiral Sir James Saumarez from 
Guernsey to Granville with some French prisoners, 
two women and two old men, vfhom the Admiral 
was desirous of setting at liberty. On the evening 
of the 23rd December, the same day that she had 
sailed from Guernsey, the Grappler encountered a 
heavy gale of wind, which made it necessary for 
Lieutenant Thomas to seek such shelter as could 
be found amongst the Chaussez rocks, under the 
largest of which — ^the Maitre isle — a sort of anchor- 
age existed, available however only to small vessels 
in the hands of experienced pilots. The Grappler's 
pilot succeeded in taking her in in safety, and the 
continuance of the gale compelled her to remain 
at that anchorage for some days ; a delay rendered 
very hazardous from their propinquity to the French 
coast, since they were liable to attack from the 
superior forces that might at any time be sent from 
the neighbouring port of Granville. The same 



220 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

gale, however, which detained them at Chaussez, 
also befriended them by preventing the French 
from leaving the protection of their harbour ; but 
at length the weather moderating sufficiently to 
enable the brig to return to Guernsey (although it 
was still too boisterous to trust her on the lee shore 
of the French coast). Lieutenant Thomas, on the 
30th December, prepared to leave his retreat, 
landing his prisoners on the island by their own 
choice, and leaving them a boat and six days' pro- 
visions. Unfortunately, when the brig was getting 
under weigh, both anchors being up, a hawser 
made fast to the rocks, by which she was riding, 
either broke or slipped, and the brig, carried by the 
tide, drifted for a few hundred yards and then 
struck upon a half-tide rock. Every effort was 
made to heave her off, but without effect ; and as 
the tide fell the Grappler parted in two amidship. 
Aware that in all probability his misfortune must 
have been seen by his enemies, who would now 
hasten to the attack, Mr. Thomas first directed his 
master to proceed to Jersey in the cutter, with 
eight men, to seek immediate assistance, whilst he 
prepared to maintain his position upon the rocks 
with the remainder of the crew, thirty-four in 
number. By his activity and perseverance he 
succeeded in a short time in removing from the 
wreck three of his guns, which he established in 
battery, and they had already landed the greater 
part of the provisions, small arms, and ammuni- 
tion, when the look-out man who had been stationed 



DEFENCE OF THE GRAPPLER. 221 

for the purpose reported that several small vessels 
were steering for the rocks. Lieutenant Thomas 
and the pilot observed them narrowly, and made 
out that they were only fishing-boats ; and as it 
was most necessary that their situation, which they 
had hoped was still unknown, should not be com- 
municated to the authorities at Granville, proceeded 
in the cutter with fourteen men to secure and 
detain these boats. Scarcely, however, had he 
rounded the rocks which formed the anchorage, 
when he came close upon three chasse-marees full 
of men, of whose proximity he was quite ignorant, 
but of whose object and intentions there could be 
no doubt. Although such a desperate step pre- 
sented but small chance of success, Lieutenant 
Thomas, as he perceived they were rather confused 
at his sudden appearance, determined on being the 
aggressor, and if he could obtain possession of one, 
employ her against the other two. Animating his 
men, he advanced boldly to the attack, when an 
unexpected fire was opened on the boat by a body of 
soldiers who had been previously landed from the 
rocks immediately above their heads, and before they 
had pulled a dozen strokes, a musket-ball struck the 
Lieutenant, passing through his lower jaw and 
tongue, and rendering him incapable of further 
exertion or giving any orders. The boat's crew 
now made for the shore, closely followed by their 
enemy, who soon made prisoner of the wounded 
officer, and afterwards proceeded to summon the 
remainder of the crew to surrender. These, left 



222 DEEDS OF KAVAL DARING. 

without any commanding officer, after a little firing 
yielded themselves to the French force, consisting 
of 160 men, under the orders of M. Epiron, 
Capitaine de Fregate. The French officer, in his 
despatch, speaks of the noble and gallant conduct 
of Captain Thomas ; and the First Consul, in con- 
sequence, directed that Captain Thomas's sword, 
which had formerly belonged to Tippoo Saib, should 
be returned to him, and that it should be con- 
sidered as a sword of honour, and he should be 
allowed to wear it while a prisoner at Verdun. 
Captain Epiron did not confine his attention to his 
gallant prisoner to words alone, for having been 
himself taken by the English shortly after this affair 
and subsequently exchanged, his first step was to 
place his purse at Mr. Thomas's command, with 
the simple understanding that he was to be repaid 
a.t the termination of that officer's captivity. 

As soon as the loss of the Grappler and the 
capture of her commander and crew was commu- 
nicated to Admiral Sir J. Saumarez, he sent to 
demand their liberation, on the plea that they were 
sailing under a flag of truce, as conveying liberated 
prisoners. The first impulse of the authorities at 
Granville seems to have been to acquiesce with 
this demand, being in all probability in some 
degree touched by the gallantry and sufferings of 
their prisoner, for Lieutenant Thomas was in- 
formed that he would soon be set at liberty. On 
reference, however, to Paris, the French Minister 
of Marine decided against the Admiral's demand, 



CAPTURE OF THE FIRME. 



on the ground that Mr. Thomas forfeited all the 
protection which the laws of war afforded to a flag 
of truce by commencing the attack on the French 
flotilla, instead of claiming their assistance ; and 
ten years of weary imprisonment was, therefore, his 
fate. The Admiralty marked their sense of his 
gallantry by promoting him to the rank of Com- 
mander after his honourable acquittal by court 
martial, and the citizens of London voted him a 
sword of the value of 200 guineas. Commander 
Thomas died in July of the present year 1851, 
after long years of unceasing suffering. 



CAPTURE OF THE FIRME. 

At daylight on Sunday, the 30th May, 1841, a 
suspicious brigantine was observed from the deck 
of the Dolphin, then cruizing off Whydah for the 
suppression of the slave trade. All sail was imme- 
diately made in cliace, and the Dolphin, having the 
land-wind strong in her favour, at first gained so 
much on the stranger as to get sight of her hull ; 
but as the breeze died away the other again fast 
increased her distance, and there was every fear 
that as soon as the sea-breeze sprung up she would 
get clear away. The Commander of the man-of-war, 
therefore, at half-past six o'clock, despatched the 
cutter, a boat of 20 feet, under Mr. Murray, mate, and 
the gig, of 22 feet, under Mr. Rees, second master, 
with orders to endeavour to get up with and 



224 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEING. 

detain her before the setting in of the sea-breeze, 
which usually springs up between nine and ten 
o'clock. The night had been rainy^ accompanied 
with squalls, so that the crew had been kept 
constantly at work trimming sails ; and when the 
men thus started without their breakfasts, in two 
boats sodden with constant use and pulling very 
heavily, they were consequently already fatigued ; 
but the sailor's energy seldom flags, and this 
occasion proved no exception to the general rule. 
In the cutter were nine persons, including the 
officer, and in the gig six. The chace had lasted 
nearly three hours under a burning tropical sun, 
when the boats having hoisted their colours got 
tolerably close, the gig being a short distance in 
advance of the cutter and within range of the brigan- 
tine. Not a soul was to be seen on board of the latter 
but the helmsman, when suddenly her bulwarks 
bristled with muskets, and a rattling volley was 
fired into the gig, the crew of which w^as ordered to 
lie on their oars and return the compliment, which 
they did accompanied with three hearty cheers. 
They then again got their oars out, and pulled a 
little further off, to wait until the other boat 
came up, not out of shot, but to a sufficient dis- 
tance, to prevent the men being picked olF. The 
cutter soon closed, and Mr. Murray having spoken 
a few encouraging words to the boats' crews, they 
gave way with a will. The first of the sea-breeze 
was just setting in, and the brigantine made an 
attempt to run the boats down ; her sweeps were 



CAPTURE OF THE FIRi\IE. 225 

rigged out to prevent their getting alongside, and a 
smart fire was maintained from the npper deck and 
two cabin windows. The boats advanced together 
cheering heartily, and as the stern of the ve^el 
lifted with the swell, they ran in under the two 
aftermost sweeps, one on each side. At this 
moment the bowman of the gig, William Allen, 
was shot through the heart in the act of laying his 
oar in, and the bowman of the cutter, William Jacobs, 
met with a similar fate and went overboard. Mr. 
Murray was on the brigantine's deck almost as 
soon as his boat touched her side, but Avas knocked 
back again with his collar-bone broken by the butt- 
end of a musket ; again he clambered up and 
received a cutlass cut upon his left arm, which 
nearly severed the hand at the wrist, while he for- 
tunately parried a desperate blow aimed at the same 
time at his head, and struck down his assailant. 
John Smith, an old and first-rate seaman, had 
closely supported his officer during the melee^ 
and although his right arm was disabled and badly 
fractured by the blow of a cutlass, he continued 
to defend himself with his sword in his left hand 
against three men who pressed him hardly. Mean- 
while Mr. Eees had cleared the bulwarks on the 
opposite side of the deck, and now advanced most 
opportunely to Mr. Murray's assistance, wounding 
one of his assailants and running another through 
the body, while the third, who fled precipitately, 
was brought down by a flying shot. The gig's 
crew having devoted their energies to a portion 

Q 



226 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEING. 

of the slaver's crew who had been lying in 
ambush under the port bulwarks, and who fled 
from the onset of their determined assailants, now 
united with their comrades from the cutter, made 
a rush, evidently meaning mischief, upon the 
slaver's crew, who discharged their remaining 
loaded muskets, and jumped down the hatchways, 
leaving the Dolphins (of whom two were killed 
and four wounded), after a sharp fight of twenty 
minutes, in possession of the Firme, a beautiful 
vessel of 179 tons. 

From the passengers, of whom there were ten on 
board the Firme, Mr. Murray learned that the 
captain and crew of the slave-vessel had deter- 
mined never to be taken by a man-of-war's boats, 
and had paid the greatest attention to their arms 
during their passage, though, a.s the sequel proved, 
with but little avail. 



PRESENCE OF MIND. 



The daring of the British seaman in the face 
of the enemy, and in the fierce struggle of the 
tempest, has been described, and it now remains to 
give an instance of his coolness and presence of 
mind in grappling in the dark hours of night, and 
when suddenly aroused from his peaceful slumber, 
with that most appalling and invidious foe — fire. 
Fire, the very thought of which is sufficient to 
make the boldest grow pale, even when, as on land, 
there may be a place of retreat from the devouring 



PRESENCE OF MIND. 227 

element, is so much the more to be dreaded on the 
wide ocean, where the only chance of life lies in 
successfully combating Avith this treacherous enemy ; 
and therefore, unless discipline and courage pre- 
vail, panic and despair increase the danger. In the 
year 1831, the ship's corporal of H. M. S. Magi- 
cienne, then many hundred miles from land, at 
4*30 A.M., in the early morning watch, on going 
his rounds, smelt, or fancied he smelt, fire in 
the fore cockpit, and on descending the cockpit 
ladder ascertained the correctness of his fears, 
finding the foresail-room to be on fire immediately 
over the magazine. Discipline liad here a great 
triumph, for the man made no alarm on the lower 
deck amongst the sleeping crew, but, in accordance 
with orders, quietly made his report to the ofiicer 
of the watch, who, in his turn, communicated it to 
the commander, Captain (now Admiral) Plum- 
ridge. Without staying to dress himself, the 
captain jumped on deck, and coolly gave the orders 
to sound the fire-roll and beat to quarters, and at 
the time, probably thinking of Admiral Corn- 
wallis's ruse^ in the face of the French fieet, 
he sent a hand aloft to see if he saw a ship to 
leeward : on his answering in the negative, the 
captain replied, " You do, sir ; I can see her." 
Then, turning round to the man at the helm, 
'^ Do you see that ship, sir ? " The poor fellow, 
afraid to say no, answered in the affirmative. 
*'' Then put the helm up and keep towards her." 

* See * Deeds of Naval Daring,' First Series, p. 110. 

Q 2 



228 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARESTG. 

By this time the word had passed, " Fire in the fore- 
sail-room." Every man and officer was at his respec- 
tive station ; sail-trimmers shortened and trimmed 
sails ; and sentries were under arms over the boats ; 
all hands remained steadily at their quarters ; 
pumps, engines, and buckets were worked with 
more than mortal energy, and the water rushed 
down on the devouring element to an extent that 
must either have extinguished it or swamped 
the ship. The party whose duty necessitated 
them to be where the fire was^ notwithstanding 
their perilous position, immediately over the maga- 
zine — the light-room, where the fire originated, 
being already destroyed and the flames within three 
inches of the powder — cleared the burning sail-room 
with all that energy and self-possession peculiar to 
British seamen in such emergencies when com- 
manded by a rigid and determined disciplinarian. 
More than ten minutes had not elapsed from the 
time the drum beat to quarters till all was over, 
and the gallant "craft,''' under all canvas, again 
pursuing her course. So quietly was everything 
managed, that those '^ sail-trimmers " at the after 
quarter^ never knew that the ship was actually on 
fire, but merely thought it a sham for exercise. 
Not a man or sail-trimmer was allowed to look 
round, or speak, or whisper to his neighbour. The 
piercing eye of the captain wa-s upon them, who, 
in his bedgown, walked the deck with his arms 
folded ; his step as firm and features as composed 
as if he had been parading the quarter-deck of the 



PEESEXCE OF MIXD. 229 

guardship in Portsmouth Harbonr. Xo one, save 
the captain, first lieutenant, and corporal, knew 
the ship to be on fire until every man was at his 
station. How lonof the fire had been burnino- was 
never ascertained. Suffice it to say, had it not been 
for the corporal discovering it at the moment he 
did, the ship would have been blown up, and 
every soul on board unconsciously hurried into 
eternity ; and it was equally fortunate that, tvhen 
discovered, the ship was commanded by a man 
possessing all the firmness, coolness, and presence 
of mind requisite to control and direct on such an 
awful occasion. Had the corporal, instead of act- 
ing according to the orders on the fire-bill, given 
the alarm of " Fire in the foresail-room," those in 
their hammocks would have been so panic-stricken, 
knowing the proximity of the sail-room to the 
magazine, that neither threats nor persuasion of 
any description would have tended to recall their 
self-possession. To leave the ship would have 
been impossible ; the quarter-boats might have 
been lowered, but the large boats in-board were 
lashed and secured for sea, so that the crew could 
scarcely have made an attempt to clear them be- 
fore the fire would have reached the powder in 
the magazine. There was but one alternative- 
make a desperate effort to subdue the flames — they 
did so, and were successful. A splendid ship and a 
gallant crew were saved by the force of discipline. 
It may be remarked that the order given to the 
man at the helm to " steer direct for that ship/^ 



230 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARma 

had a considerable effect on the spirits of those who 
knew the worst of the case ; they, no doubt, imagin- 
ing all the while that there was a ship to escape 
to should their efforts to extinguish the fire fail. 

This anecdote was given to the public in the 
columns of the daily press when the destruction of 
the West India steam-packet Amazon was fresh on 
the minds of the public, and was brought forward 
to show the advantage of perfect discipline and 
obedience to command on such trying emergencies. 



COLPOYS AND THE MUTINY AT SPITHEAD. 

The general mutiny of our seamen, both at the 
Nore and Spithead, in 1797, exhibited many fine 
traits of the British naval character, both in officers 
and men ; the latter displaying great patriotism 
and moderation in the exaction of what they ima- 
gined to be their just demands, when it might have 
been reasonably feared they would have been carried 
away by the intoxication of lawless success — while 
the former, though surrounded by mutineers, still 
endeavoured to maintain their position by an 
undaunted presence — which, such is the effect 
of habits of discipline, in some cases proved suc- 
cessful ; and in very few instances was insult or 
personal injury offered to those who thus boldly 
asserted their authority. 

The mutiny at Spithead, and some of its attend- 
ant circumstances, is that to which I more par- 



COLPOYS AXD THE MUTIXY AT SPITHEAD. 231 

ticulaiiy draw attention, since the behaviour of the 
Admiral, Sir John Colpoys, and the misguided 
crew of the " London " afford evidence of the cha- 
racteristic traits to which I have alluded. This 
mutiny, which preceded by a few days that at the 
Nore, had been apparently quieted by concessions to 
the demands of the seamen, and the greater part of 
ihe fleet had dropped down to St. Helen's, leaving 
the London at Spithead. While in this position 
the officers of the London perceived symptoms of 
an outbreak amongst the ships at St. Helen's, and 
having communicated the fact to the Vice-Ad- 
miral, he called his crew together, and addressing 
them in a few energetic words, persuaded them to 
take no share in it, and to go below. When there, 
however, and released from the influence of their 
commander's presence and words, the bad spirits 
again prevailed, and the approach of boats from 
the mutinous ships excited them to endeavour to 
force their way upon deck : a contest consequently 
ensued between them and their officers, who, 
trusting to the fidelity of the marines, resisted 
their attempts. Shots were exchanged, and several 
lives were lost, when the marines, with the excep- 
tion of two foreigners, having laid down their 
arms, no further resistance was offered to the 
mutineers, who, forcing the hatchways and as- 
sembling on the gangways, tumultuously ap- 
proached the quarter-deck, where the admiral and 
his officers stood prepared for the worst, yelling out 
" Blood for blood !" and as a further excitement to 



232 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

vengeance, many of the men came on deck smeared 
with the blood of their comrades who had fallen below. 
The delegates from the other ships, who were now 
mingled with them, encouraged them in this cry ; 
muskets were at the same time pointed at the 
small knot of officers, and numerous voices were 
heard calling out to fire, while others were as 
vehemently raised to avert that catastrophe. 

The conduct of Sir John Colpoys at this awful 
moment has often been cited as an instance of 
calmness and self-possession ; and to the fact of his 
thus meeting his assailants face to face without 
flinching must be attributed the preservation of 
himself and his officers. His official letter to the 
Admiralty, written on the same day, and in ex- 
pectation of immediate death, gives a concise 
and interesting account of the whole proceeding, 
and is as follows : — 

Letter from Vice-Admiral John Colpoys to 
^van Nepean^ Esq, 

4C Qjo ** London, Spithead, May 8th, 1797. 

" I request, should this letter be allowed to 
reach your hands, that you will acquaint the Lords 
Commissioners of the Admiralty of the following 
circumstances, which it appears to me should be 
known to their Lordships and the public, as a 
justification of my conduct in the unfortunate event 
which took place on board here yesterday ; and I 
trust that their Lordships, and the community at 



COLPOYS AND THE MUTINY AT SPITHEAD. 283 

large, will do me the justice to believe that my 
conduct has not proceeded from hasty or tyrannical 
motives, but that my only guide has been the ful- 
filling my duty as a servant of my king and coun- 
try : and this I can now solemnly declare, and 
mean to do at my last moments, should the poor 
misguided men who are to be my judges allow me 
to say so much to them, and which I am inclined 
to think they will, as they really paid unexpected 
attention to me, even at a moment when nothing 
was to be looked for but overboiling rage and fury 
at seeing several of their wounded and dying ship- 
mates weltering in their blood ; even then I say, 
though armed with all manner of missive weapons, 
they gave me a hearing, which certainly saved 
Lieut. Bover's life, though the rope was about his 
neck ; and, indeed, when taken from his, I expected 
it would have been placed about mine. This 
irregular preamble will, I trust, meet with their 
Lordships' indulgence, which I only trouble them 
with in hopes of relieving my memory from dis- 
graceful reflections, which a censorious world may 
be too much disposed to bestow on an officer who 
has been the unfortunate, but, I trust, the innocent, 
cause of shedding the blood of his shipmates. 
About one o'clock p.m. on Sunday, the 7th of 
May, Captain Griffith came into my cabin, and 
said, ' Sir, I am very sorry to acquaint you that 
everything appears as wrong as ever with the fleet 
lying at St. Helen's, where the boats are assem- 
bling, and the yard-ropes reeved as formerly/ 



231^ DEEDS OF NAYAL DAREs^G. 

I immediately desired he would go on deck, turn 
all hands up, and let me know when they were 
there. As soon as they Yfere aft, I went on the 
quarter-deck, and told them that I supposed they 
knew what was going forward at St. Helen's. They 
one and all assured me they did not. ^ Very well, 
then, let me know if you have any grievances re- 
maining.' The answer was, ^ No ; none.' ' Have 
you not had everything granted, nay, more than 
you expected, by the Admiralty V ' Yes, yes,' was 
the word. ^This being the case, I now pledge 
myself, if you will follow my advice, that you shall 
not get into any disgrace with your brethren 
in the fleet, as I shall become responsible for 
your conduct : therefore my first wish is that 
you hoist all the boats in, then secure the lower 
deck guns and ports, and afterwards every blue 
jacket to remain quietly below : that I should get 
the marines and officers under arms.' All which 
was done. The officers and marines (who had all 
given us reason to suppose they meant to stand by 
us) were dispersed about different parts of the 
quarter-deck, poop, forecastle, and main deck. 
When the boats of the fleet approached the Marl- 
borough, then lying to the westward, our people 
below began to make a stir, and showed a dis- 
position for coming up, which the officers at the 
hatchways prevented ; they then began to unlash 
the middle-deck guns, point them aft and up the 
hatchways, and on the officers calling to me, and 
saying that the men were forcing their way up, and 



COLrOYS AND THE MUTINY AT SPITHEAD. 285 

must they prevent them by firing on them? I 
said, ' Yes certainly ; they must not be allowed to 
come up til] I order them.' Soon after, the con- 
fusion increased, and some shots were exchanged 
from the officers on deck and the men on the 
hatchways ; the marines began to throw down 
their arms, and make way for the men to come up^ 
a:^d numbers having succeeded, in order to prevent 
any more shedding of blood, Avhich would have 
been unavailmg against such numbers, I ordered 
all firing to cease, and desired the officers to retire 
aft, and the men to come to me. Many of them 
did so, and the general cry w^as ' for Lieut. Bover,' 
w^ho was immediately seized and carried forward 
on the forecastle, and as soon as a yard -rope could 
be rove they began to place it about his neck :^' at 
which moment, fortunately, Mr. Smith, our sur- 
geon, of whom they have justly a very high 
opinion, got them to allow me to be heard. By 
this time, also, the men of the other ships (called 
their delegates) had got on board, and forward on 
our forecastle, and I was heard. What I had to 
say was, ^ that if anybody was culpable for what 
happened on that day, it was myself; for that Mr. 
Bover only obeyed my orders, and that I only did 
my duty.' This seemed to irritate them not a 
little : but at length, when I assured them that I 
had ever felt it my duty to resist such proceedings, 

* A story obtained some currency that Admiral Colpoys actually 
placed his head in the noose prepared for the lieutenant : this he cer- 
tainly did, figuratively, though not in reality. 



236 DEEDS OF ^^AYAL DARING. 

but more especially just now, having received very 
recent instructions and orders from their Lordships 
for the conduct of officers towards the men : they 
■ one and all laughed at the word ' orders/ and de- 
fied me to produce any such, which I said I could 
do if they would allow me to go down to the cabin 
for them, and which, after much hesitation, was 
gTanted. Some men being allowed to attend me, 
I went down, and purposely delayed finding my 
keys, in hopes that a little time might bring them 
to cool reflection, and God knows it was a most 
doubtful moment for such a hope, as many of them 
seemed very much intoxicated, and which had not 
been the case in any former part of their mutinies. 
On returning to the forecastle I found they had 
taken the rope from Mr. Bover's neck, which gave 
me some hopes for him, but I must own, from 
their countenances, none for myself However, 
before I began to read my orders they for the 
most part agreed to lay down their arms, and put 
them in safety. Having read them, they said they 
must have them to consider of, and read over ; that 
I must retire, be put under confinement, also my 
captain and Mr. Bover, but all to be separate. I 
assured them their orders should be strictly obeyed, 
and that I pledged myself to them that I never meant 
to be base enough to quit the ship, and leave ofiicers 
in the lurch who had only done their duty in obey- 
ing my orders. The answer from them was, ' We 
shall show, as we have power, that we can use it with 
discretion.' I only requested of them to be quick in 



COLPOYS AND THE MUTINY AT SPITHEAD. 237 

their determinations, and not to let the service of 
the country suffer for any faults of mine, and begged 
them to remember once for all that blame belonged 
only to me. This, sir, I solemnly declare, is the 
whole that passed, and on which I shall make no 
comments, only trust their Lordships will feel, as 
I did, that, to save the life of a most valuable 
young officer, Lieut. Bover, I am justified in hav- 
ing given up their orders ; and I do trust, feeling 
as I do, that a man cannot sacrifice his life in any 
better cause than that of fulfilling his duty to his 
country, that their Lordships will not, to save that of 
an individual like me, suffer themselves to be driven 
into any improper compliance by a set of poor 
misguided men. As yet I have no reason to com- 
plain of my treatment. To-day Captain Owen's 
brother (one of our mates) is confined in irons, 
many of the people declaring he has shown 
himself too bitter against them. Captain Owen, 
who has been a passenger on board here, and was 
formerly first lieutenant of this ship, is under con- 
finement, but allowed to remain with me : the 
doctor and chaplain are also allowed to come to 
me, without any witnesses being by ; and from the 
great confidence the people have so justly in those 
two gentlemen, I am willing to hope for a happy 
termination of this disagreeable business, which I 
trust has not been brought forward by any prema- 
ture or improper proceedings on my part. 

"' I shall now close this, probably my last, address 
to their Lordships, in full confidence that they in 



238 DEEDS OF IS^AVAL DARIXG. 

their wisdom will make that use of it which has 
suggested my troubling them with it, in order to 
justify my conduct to the moderate and well- 
disposed. — I have the honour to remain. Sir, with 
much regard, your most obedient and most humble 

^^'^''^'^^^ '^ John Colpoys, 

'^ I close in a hurry, having a dawn of hope that 
I may find a proper conveyance for this." 

The finale of the affair is very creditable to the 
London's crew, for the Admiral and all the officers 
were landed without injury. When the question 
was raised as to handing the officers over to the civil 
power to take their trial for the blood shed, boats 
v/ere sent from the other ships to forbid their being 
landed; but the London's men persisted in their 
resolution, and announced that they were prepared 
to repel force by force if any attempt should be 
made to harm their officers. They had decided, 
after much deliberation, " that the officers in firing 
'' on them could do no otherwise, having only 
" obeyed the AdmiraFs orders, and that although 
" the Admiral, who had formerly been their friend, 
'' was now become their enemy, his life should be 
'' spared, as it would be no compensation for the 
" valuable ones taken away by his orders." 



ESPOIR WITH LIGUEIA. 



The following despatch gives the details of one 
of the earliest actions in the late war, to which the 



ESPOm WITH LIGURIA. 239 

honour of a medal has, after the lapse of more than 
fifty years, been awarded by her present Majesty ; 
the letter is addressed to Lord St. Vincent, then 
Commander-in-Chief off Cadiz, who, in transmit- 
ting it to the Admiralty, styles it an action '' which 
reflects such lustre upon his Majesty's arms that 
too much cannot be said in praise of it." 

" Gibraltar, H. M. Sloop L'Espoir. 

"My Lord, 
" I have the honour to acquaint your Lordship, 
having under my charge part of the Oran convoy, 
I, on the 7th instant, at about 5 p.m., discovered 
a large ship seemingly steering to cut off the con- 
voy, or for Malaga, Cape Windmill bearing N.E. 
by N. four or five leagues. If she proved an enemy, 
I saw the preservation of the convoy depended 
upon my opposing her ; I therefore ha^uled out from 
them and made all sail to meet her. A little before 
7 P.M., perceiving her to be a man-of-war, and hove- 
to to receive me, I hoisted our colours, that we 
mio^ht know each other, beinq; then within musket 
shot ; she did not think proper to display hers, but 
when we came upon her weather quarter hailed, 
which I answered ; then she asked in Italian what 
brig is that, to which we replied in English, ' What 
ship is that ? ' He then ordered me in a very im- 
perious manner, and in good English, to 'go to 
leeward of him and strike, or he would sink me ;' 
and without any further ceremony began about it, 
first firing one shot into us, and instantly after his 
whole broadside ; which we returned with double 



240 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARINa. 

shotted guns, round and grape, and continued a 
very heavy fire of great guns and small arms on 
both sides till ahout f past 10 P.M., when we had 
the satisfaction to hear him call for quarter, ^ beg- 
ging of us not to fire any more— he was a Genoese.' 
I told him again we were a British man-of-war, and 
ordered him to lower all his sails and come on 
board of me : he said he would. I told him again 
not to hesitate, but to do it instantly, or I would 
do my best to sink him ; to which remonstrance he 
paid no attention, but kept shooting up to gain a 
situation to rake us : we brought our broadside to 
bear, and thinking him too big to be trifled with, gave 
it to him with its full force — double shotted every 
one — which I believe sickened him, although he 
returned it, for on our shooting ahead and tacking 
to give him the other, he again cried out, ^ beg- 
ging us not to fire again, that he was badly wounded, 
but would obey my orders immediately,' and on his 
lowering his sails all firing ceased at about 11 p.m. ; 
but on his men not hoisting his boat out I again 
hailed him ; he then said all his boats were shot 
to pieces. I told him I would send him one, and 
to make no delay ; which I did, a prize-boat that the 
master's mate was in (Mr. Trinder), who gallantly, 
when he saw us engaged, pushed alongside with 
the people, a reinforcement much wanted, as the 
Lieutenant was away with a party of men in a 
Greek corn vessel. When the Captain of her (Don 
Francis de Orso) came on board, he said he took 
us for an Algerine — an excuse without a reason, and 



ESPOIR AVITH LIGURIA. 241 

shows his nitention was to sink or take us : if the 
latter, he would have hoisted French colours and 
carried us in triumph to Malaga. This, my Lord, 
I am well convinced of, for why hail a Turk in 
English? why not hoist his colours during the 
action ? Why should he think proper to blind him- 
self (for blind he must be), not to see ours ; and 
wdiat reason could they have the day after they 
struck to take the advantage of a heavy squall and 
our reefing to put before the wind, and making all 
spjl for Malaga, encouraging the people to fight us 
again, and other manoeuvres, which prove him to 
be nothing Ijut a pirate ? After encountering many 
difficulties we brought him safe in, the 10th 
instant. I have secured him in the mole and his 
men in the prison ship, waiting your Lordship's 
orders, and hoping, as far as I have acted, to meet 
v/ith your Lordship's approbation. The vessel is 
called the Liguria, a Dutch frigate, sold to the 
Genoese, and mounting* twelve 18-pounders, four 
12-pounders, ten 6-pounders, twelve long wall 
pieces, and 4 swivels, with 120 men on board, of 
all nations, is now armed en flute, wdth a valuable 
cargo from Lisbon, bound to Genoa. 

^' It would give me infinite pleasure if I could 
close this without having to inform your Lordship 
that the first hour of the action I lost my master, 
Mr. Solesby : a loss I felt most severely, for he was 
brave with the neatest coolness, and knew his 



The Espoir's armament was fourteen six-pounders. 

R 



242 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

duty well. I had six men wounded, two badly. The 
Liguria had seven killed and fourteen wounded. 
Among them the boatswain was killed and the 
first captain badly wounded. 

'' No panegyric of mine can be of service to 
either the warrant officers or men, for the great 
disparity between the vessels shows that, had not 
each arm been strung with British nerves, we must 
have fallen a sacrifice to these pirates, or whatever 
else they may be. The service is much indebted to 
the spirited conduct of Captain Brown (28th regi- 
ment), who happened to be on board, by his ani- 
mation, inspiring all around, and by his attention 
to the guns, claiming no small share in gaining the 
victory. Nor would I do justice if I did not beg leave 
in the strongest terms to recommend to your Lord- 
ship's notice Mr. Hemphill (the purser), who, with 
my leave, came up from below, where he was sta- 
tioned, and by his assiduity in attending to the guns, 
saved me much ; as, after the loss of the master, 
my attention was more particularly required in 
manoeuvring the helm and sails. I am yours, &c. 

" (Signed) Edward Bland. 

"H.M. Sloop L'Espoir, 18th August, 1798.'' 



A DOUGLAS DIES. 



In the year 1667, when the Dutch destroyed 
our ships in the Medway, filling the breasts of the 
inhabitants of London with alarm and dismay, one 



THE CHALLEXGE. 243 



gallant heart, true to his heroic name, perished for 
his country's cause. Captain Douglas, of the Eoyal 
Oak, having defended his ship with the greatest 
obstinacy, in pursuance of the orders he had re- 
ceived, 'Ho maintain his post to the last extremity," 
at length found his ship in flames from stem to 
stern, the enemy having succeeded in firing her ; 
his crew, finding further resistance useless, retreated 
to the shore, and Captain Douglas was urged to 
accompany them : he replied that he had no com- 
mands to retire, and ''that it should never be 
said a Douglas had quitted his post mthout orders ;" 
and thus resolutely continued on board and was 
burnt with the ship, falling a sacrifice to discipline 
and obedience to command, and setting an example 
worthy all Greek or Roman fame. 



THE CHALLENGE. 

In the Chronicles of the year 1760 I find an 
example of those naval challenges which have been 
more often given than accepted, questions of policy 
or prudence having generally checked the first im- 
pulse of brave men to hazard everything in a contest 
from which there was no retreat ; and in this instance 
there was no departure from the general rule : in- 
deed, save in the case of the young Captain Byron, 
whose action has been alluded to in the notice of his 
father, the " Foul-weather Jack " of naval history, 
and in the still more memorable contest of more re- 

R 2 



244 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

cent date, viz. that of the Shannon and Chesapeake;, 
one so well known to the present generation that I 
have not repeated it, it is difficult to call to mind 
any case of bona fide challenge given and accepted. 
In the autumn of 1759, when Monsieur Thurot 
was preparing for his descent on the coast of Ire- 
land, he was blockaded in the port of Ostend by 
the Argo, a frigate of 28 guns, under the command 
of Captain Fisher, assisted by some smaller vessels. 
The gallant captain, while thus employed in ob- 
serving his enemy, sent a message to the governor 
of the place, '' that as the King his master was not 
at war with the house of Austria he expected to 
be supplied with refreshments from Ostend, al- 
though it was garrisoned with French troops, 
otherwise he would make prize of every vessel 
belonging to the place that might venture to come 
out of the harbour. No notice having been taken 
of his message he proceeded to put his threat in 
execution, and detained some fishing-boats. The 
Governor now, finding that Captain Fisher was in 
earnest, sent out a flag of truce, with complimen- 
tary assurances that his request should be com- 
plied with, and the English frigate thenceforth 
received daily supplies from the shore. In the 
course of this correspondence, the French Com- 
mander, whose frigate of 30 guns, was, as I have 
said, lying in the harbour, sent notice to Captain 
Fisher that if he would dismiss his small craft, and 
give his honour that none of the squadron under 
Admiral Boys should interfere in the contest^ he 



THE CHALLENGE. ' 245 

would next day come out and give him battle. 
Captain Fislier desired the messenger to tell M. 
Thurot that he would dismiss the cutters, and not 
only give his word, but even an officer as hostage 
for the performance of his guarantee, that he should 
not be assisted by any of the Commodore's squa- 
dron, which lay seven or eight leagues to leeward, 
but that he would engage him singly at a minute's 
warning. Burning with excitement, the English 
Captain accordingly made the ship ready for the 
expected engagement next morning ; when he 
weighed his anchor, and, hoisting the British en- 
sign, stood in-shore to the mouth of the harbour, 
where he brought to, with his courses cleared up 
and his maintop-sail to the mast. In this position 
he remained with flying colours, almost close to the 
fortifications, as long as the tide would permit him, 
in sight of the numerous spectators assembled to 
see the engagement ; but, unlike our American 
foeman in more recent times, Thurot did not think 
proper to keep the appointment, although it was of 
his own making, and Captaio Fisher in the Argo 
was thus deprived of the chance of having been 
the prototype of Captain Broke in the Shannon. 

Captain Fisher seems to have been an officer 
who, in common parlance, would stand no nonsense. 
While comma^nding a squadron in the East Indies 
he appeared on one occasion with his ships off the 
fortress of Point-de-Galle, in Ceylon, at that time 
in the hands of the Dutch. The governor sent an 
officer to acquaint hirn that no men-of-vv^ar could be 



246 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEING. 

admitted, his orders being to fire on such as pre- 
sumed to approach the harbour. Captain Fisher 
coolly returned for answer, that he would not be 
the aggressor in any rupture, but that his Ma- 
jesty's ships should come within pistol-shot of the 
walls, and if a single shot was fired he would not 
leave one stone on another in Galle. This spirited 
answer changed the Dutchman's tone, and the 
English were treated with the greatest complaisance 
during their stay. 



"I HAVE DONE IT, AND AM ALIVE." 

The occasion on which the above words were 
used is so recent that they have scarcely yet be- 
come the property of history ; I am, however, in- 
duced to set forth the gallantry of Lieutenant 
Corbett as a modern example of my theme, and 
therefore give a short sketch of the naval proceed- 
ings at Lagos, in December, 1851. 

The chief of Lagos, one of the most notorious 
slave stations on the west coast of Africa, having 
rendered himself amenable to punishment by firing 
on a flag of truce which had been sent to treat 
with him, the Commander-in-Chief on the station 
determined to avenge the insult ; and for this pur- 
pose having collected a considerable force, de- 
spatched it in the boats of his squadron, accom- 
panied by two small steam tenders, under the 
command of Captain L. J. Jones and H. Lyster, to 



" I HAVE DONE IT, AND AM ALIVE." 247. 

punish the refractory chief. Leaving their ship 
on the 24th of December, the expedition crossed 
the bar of the river on which Lagos is situated, but 
were unable to accomplish anything that day, 
which was far advanced by the time they had 
approached the defences. On the following, 
Christmas-day, Captain Jones, anxious to obtain 
a better knowledge of the pilotage, and perhaps 
influenced in some degree by the remembrance 
that it was the anniversary of the day when angels 
announced " Peace on earth and good- will towards 
men/' decided on employing it in the less active 
but not less necessary occupation of feeling his 
way, by sounding the channels and learning some- 
thing of the pilotage of the river. At dawn of day on 
the 26th the boats again advanced in four divisions ; 
two, under Captain Jones, escorted by the Blood- 
hound steam tender, and two, under Captain Lyster, 
by the Teazer, a similar vessel. The enemy, imme- 
diately the English forces came within distant range, 
opened a fire of great guns and musketry from their 
whole line of embankment — (the muzzles of their 
muskets only being visible) — which our men re- 
turned with their great guns, but without much ap- 
parent effect on their stockades, formed as they were 
of green wood. Captain Jones' precaution of the pre- 
vious day nowproved insufficient, for the Teazer first, 
and then the Bloodhound, grounded on the sand- 
banks. The latter was not so badly situated as the 
former, for, while shewasable to keep up a deliberate 
fire from her 18-pound gun and howitzer, which soon 



248 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEING. 

silenced the enemy's great gxins, tlie great part of the 
shower of musketry which the enemy discharged into 
them fell short ; one or two balls only, falling on 
board, slightly wounding her crew^ Comparatively 
favourable as it w^as, however, the Bloodhound's 
situation was such as to render it necessary to attempt 
to land and spike the guns. Lieutenant Saumarez 
w^as therefore despatched with the boats, which vainly 
endeavouredto effect a landing by a narrow channel^ 
which had been closed by a submerged stockade. 
Everything v/as done that it was possible for men to 
do ; the carpenter of the Sam^pson, Mr. W. Stivey, 
neck-deep in water and axe in hand, was seenhewing 
away at the stakes to make a passage for the boats to 
land ; but the hurricane of shot that opened on them 
proving to the commanding officer that their efforts 
would be unava;iling, he returned to the Blood- 
hound with the loss of two officers and ten men 
killed and wounded, and during the remainder of 
this day was obliged to content himself with keep- 
ing up a fire of shot and shell against the enemy's 
works. While the Bloodhound's party were thus 
circumstanced, those in the Teazer were in a still 
more perilous situation. Shortly after she grounded, 
the enemy brought two guns to bear upon her 
from a stockade, in a position unassailable from 
the ship. These guns were admirably served, 
and Captain Lyster felt satisfied that they would 
destroy the vessel before the tide rose sufficiently 
to float her off. Two courses were now open to 
him: either to abandon and destroy the ship, or by 



" I HAVE DOXE IT, AXD AM ALIVE." 249 . 

makiasf a noble rush into the midst of the armed 
hosts on shore, attempt to carry the guns, and 
thus turn the fortune of the day. He knew the 
sacrifice of life would be great, but the cheerful 
acquiescence of his ofScers and men, when he com- 
municated his determination to attempt the bolder 
course, left no doubt in his mind as to its success- 
ful issue. Forming in line abreast, and keeping up a 
continued fire upon the stockade, the boats advanced 
steadily under the fire of at least 1500 muskets : 
the men landed and formed, and then entered the 
stockade with a rush, Lieutenant John Corbett 
being the foremost. The enemy did not wait to re- 
ceive their foe, but retreated into the bush : the guns 
were quickly spiked and the object of their landing 
attained; but in the moment of success Captain 
Lyster was informed that the enemy had got into his 
rear and succeeded in capturing one of his boats. 
Instantly all was hurry to the beach, and the crews 
of the several boats, including that of the one thus 
captured by the enemy, were re-embarked under a 
crushing destructive fire poured in upon them at 
pistol range. When they had shoved off, some- 
thing was observed wrong with the rocket-boat, 
which vfas nearest the shore ; upon which Captain 
Lyster pulled back, and hastening to know what 
was the matter, was informed that the kroo- 
men had let go the anchor without orders, and 
that there were not sufficient hands on board to raise 
it. He accordingly ordered it to be slipped, but the 
reply was, '^ it is a chain ca,ble clinched to the bottom^ 



250 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

and we cannot unshackle it." On this Captain 
Lyster jumped on board to lend his assistance, when 
he observed Lieutenant Corbett stagger up from 
under the stern, saying, " I have done it and am 
alive." Yes, in the face of that withering fire, this 
heroic officer devoted himself to save the boat, and, 
already severely wounded while on shore, had gone 
over the side, and by incredible exertions had 
succeeded in cutting the cable with a cold chisel, 
receiving five additional wounds in doing it. 

Successful, but with a heavy loss, the victors 
now returned to their vessel, and the remainder 
of the afternoon was spent in preparations for 
heaving her off, which they succeeded in doing 
about sunset. 

Next morning the Teazer rejoined the Blood- 
hound, and the 27th was passed in pouring a 
fire of shot, shell, and rockets into the town, which 
was shortly in a blaze. The 28th, Sunday, was 
spent in preparations for the general assault ; but 
during that day the enemy, to the number of 2000, 
abandoned the town and works, and on the 29th 
Lagos and its dependencies was prostrate before the 
attacking force, who, out of 337 officers and men 
employed, lost in this blood -bought victory 15 
killed and 75 wounded. Fifty-two guns were 
taken or destroyed, but the enemy's loss in killed 
and wounded it was impossible to ascertain. 

It is scarcely necessary to add that, in addition 
to the officers senior in rank, who were promoted 
by the Admiralty for this gallant service, Lieu- 



THE POLAR REGIOXS. 251 

tenant Corbett was specially promoted to be a 
commander, and Mr. B. F. B. Clarke, a master's 
assistant, who gallantly seconded him in spiking 
the guns, was promoted to be midshipman. 



THE POLAR REGIONS. 



The day of battle and the hour of storm and 
shipwreck have already afforded many illustrations 
of my theme : an incident, therefore, taken from 
those startling narratives of British enterprise, the 
several accounts of our countrymen's attempts to 
force the icy barrier, which has hitherto closed the 
North- West Passage, attempts in which so many 
have failed and on which the lives of hundreds of 
our best and bravest are now emperilled, may 
fairly claim a place in these pages. When Captain 
Sir E. Parry, then Commander of the Hecla, left 
this country in the year 1826 to explore the 
Northern Seas, with a stout ship under him and 
stout hands and hearts to support him, he did no 
more than many had done before and are prepared 
to do again ; but the peculiarity of Parry's attempt 
consisted in his resolution of leaving the protecting 
shelter of his ship when he should have reached the 
furthest point to which he could force her, and 
trusting to open boats, endeavour to penetrate 
w^here the ship could not go. Arrived at the ship's 
furthest point, his gallant band, provided mth a 
store of provisions calculated to last seventy days, 



252 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

started on the 21st of June on their perilous enter- 
prise, and receiving three cheers from those ihej 
left behind, they paddled away in two boats, hopeful 
of success, and scarce bestowing one thought on the 
enormous risks they incurred. It is difficult for 
the imagination to picture anything more a^ppa- 
rently hopeless than the position of these two 
solitary boats, not on the wide waste of waters, 
but in that region of eternal ice, at a season when 
the cold warmth of the Arctic summer had broken 
up the vast fields of ice into huge disjointed frag- 
ments, each of which threatened destruction to the 
adventurous voyagers. The daily journal of the 
proceedings is full of interest, and well repays a 
perusal. At one time we read of their progress 
being stayed by dense and dismal fogs ; at another 
we see them floundering on through deep snow 
and water, compelled by the rugged nature of the 
ice-fields over which they are travelling first to 
convey their stores ^on sledges and then to return 
for their lightened boats ; thus traversing the same 
ground five times, and accomplishing a distance of 
ten miles advance at the expense of a long and 
weary day's labour . at another a tortuous course 
through a lane of open water between the ice-floes, 
enabled them after a day passed in incessant rowing 
to record the fact that they had advanced five 
miles in their course to the northward. But all 
this was the sunny side of the future. Fog and 
frost, snow and ice, were nothing to these bold men 
so long as they felt that they were making some 



THE POLAR REGIONS. 253 

progress towards the accomplishment of their 
object. One of their most distressing and toilsome 
modes of advance was when their course lay over a 
mass of floating islands of ice: on such occasions 
they had sometimes to use their boats as bridges 
between the floating fragments ; at others, when 
the fissures were too v^^ide, they had to launch them 
into the narrow channels, only to be drawm up 
immediately after with excessive labour, and again 
launched after a short traject over the field ice, 
repeating the operation many times in the day. 
At length more than half the time for which their 
provisions v^ere calculated to last had passed, and 
these gallant hearts still held on, even though their 
advance to the north had been on some days almost 
nothing, — since while they struggled on, advancing 
over the ice, that ice itself was drifting with the 
current in the opposite direction ; thus realizing in 
their persons the fabled punishment of Sysiphus, 
or that of the cruel daughters of Danaus. The per- 
severing energy of the gallant Commander, to 
whom alone this disheartening fact was known, 
was, however, compelled to yield to circumstances 
wdiich he could not control, for when, at the ex- 
piration of their last three days of labour, the 
result of their observations showed that they vvere 
three miles to the soutliivard of their pre^dous 
position, he reluctantly gave the orders to retreat ; 
having at least the satisfaction of knowing that he 
had carried the British flag further north than it 
had ever flown before. 



254 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARINa. 

In this expedition they advanced 172 miles from 
their entry into the ice ; and their calculation was 
that they had actually traversed 668 miles in 
doing it. 



DEFIANCE AND CENTURION, WITH TWO FRENCH 
SHIPS. 

The following private letter from Mr. Sidney 
Cole, one of the lieutenants of the Defiance, in the 
action, which he narrates, is the only account which 
I have been able to find of a contest which certainly 
is deserving of being rescued from entire oblivion. 
In ' Charnock's Biography ' the facts and the year 
are wrongly given under the name of Captain John 
Evans, of the Defiance ; and poor Captain Nicholls, 
of the Centurion, is still worse treated, for not only 
is his name transformed into Mighels, but the Cen- 
turion's share in the business is totally ignored. 
Luckily Mr. Cole has enabled me to do tardy 
justice to these two brave men ; and his spirited 
letter, which is given without curtailment, will 
enable my readers to judge how far these enco- 
miums are merited : — 

" Gibraltar, 30th Not. 1709. 

" The disappointments often, that either my 
letters to you have miscarried or did not deserve 
an answer, have discouraged me for some time past 
from writing ; but having been lately in an action 
which, perhaps, may make some noise at home as 



DEFIANCE AND CENTURION. 255 • 

well as in these parts, I beg leave to trouble you 
with the following particulars : — 

" The Defiance and Centurion having cleared at 
Port Mahon, the former mounted with 61 guns, 
370 hands on board, the latter with 48 guns and 
292 hands, sailed thence the 31st last month, in 
order to cruize off Malaga for two months. But 
on the 8th of this instant, by break of day, we spied 
two strange sail to windward, giving us chase ; we 
therefore immediately brought to and prepared to 
receive them, Modeil being north 4 leagues, the 
wind E. b. N. and a fine gale but popling sea. Half- 
past nine they came within pistol-shot alongside of 
us and hoisted their French colours, and then began 
the engagement, which lasted till a quarter after 
twelve at noon, in which time we had 17 killed 
upon the spot and 69 dangerously wounded ; of the 
former our master and gunner, of the latter our 
lieutenant of marines. In the number of the 
wounded I include only those who were disabled 
from acting, for our captain and a great many 
more were slightly wounded. Notwithstanding 
the great odds on the enemy's side, all our men 
during the whole of the fight were hearty, brisk, 
and resolute ; but the bravery of our wounded men 
is hardly to be equalled, who instead of lamenting 
some their loss of limbs and others their certainly 
approaching fate, spent their dying breaths in 
calling to and encouraging their fellows to stand 
heartily to it. We had some who after they had 
been t^vice wounded returned a third time to their 



256 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

quarters. The action was very sharp for two 
hours, but after that our antagonist did not dare to 
lie alongside, but kept at a distance pelting our 
quarter, and grew tired of that too in a hour and 
half more. We then had leisure to look about us 
for our comrade, who was vastly overmatched, for 
he had a 64 -gun ship to deal with, whereas the 
Centurion could fight but five of her lower tier of 
p-uns ; and at that moment the Frenchman, was 
going to board her, but could not conveniently do 
it without coming under our stern and receiving 
all our small arms, but in return he raked us and 
did us great damage ; but we wore upon him and 
fired our 30 guns into him, and were so very near 
him that 'tis impossible but every shot did execu- 
tion, and he had no sooner got clear of us but the 
Centurion gave him her broadside too, and all her 
small arms, that his men fell off his shrouds and 
bowsprit as thick as leaves from a tree ; so that 
beino- quite scared, he let fall his foresail and hoisted 
his topsails and put away for it right afore the 
wind, and being but little damaged either in his 
sails or rigging, he set his small sails, and weathering, 
stood for his consort, who made signals for him. 
We stood after them, but night and the fixuding we 
could not come up with them (for w^e could not 
make half our sail) prevented us, for we had hardly 
a rope in the ship either running or standing but 
\vhat was shot through, so that the Queen (Anne) 
will have the charge of a whole suit of sails, rigging, 
and masts. The next morning we were chased 



THE PRR'ATE SHIP OF WAR. 257 

again by two sail, and believing them to be those 
we had engaged the day before, we, to save them 
trouble, stood towards them and prepared for a 
second rencontre, but found them to be Algerines, 
and so left them and anchored here the 10th. 
Here are since arrived a Dane, a Genoese, and a 
Spanish vessel from Malaga, whose masters report 
that on the 9th two French men-of-war, one of 
76 guns and 600 men, the other 6J^ guns and 500 
men, anchored there and reported they had fought 
two English men-of-war of 90 and 70 guns, and 
that they would have taken us but that they had 
an account we had a regiment of soldiers on board 
to reinforce the garrison of this place, and that they 
had lost but 16 men each; but we are since 
informed that one of them was towed in by the 
other, the greater by the less, and that they had 
556 men killed and wounded. The Centurion had 
22 men killed and between 30 and 40 wounded, 
and, as gibove stated, the Defiance had 17 killed 
and 69 wounded, or every fourth man killed or 
w^ounded ; a loss scarce exceeded in the severest 
strife on record, showing the obstinacy with which 
the action was maintained.'' 



THE PRIVATE SHIP OF WAR. 

The actions of private ships of war have not 
often had the good fortune of being immortahzed 
in the ^ Gazette,' and therefore the very fact of that 

s 



258 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

honour having been conferred marks the engage- 
ment as having been thought worthy of the highest 
distinction ; and in the few cases that have been 
recorded none can be found affording an example 
of greater resolution and bravery than that displayed 
by the captain and crew of the Chance privateer^ 
in her action with the Spanish ship Amiable Maria, 
on the 29th August, 1801. The Chance, of 16 small 
guns, principally 12 and 6 pounder carronades, and 
with a complement of 94 men, was cruizing off 
Callao at the above date, when towards nightfall 
she fell in with a large ship, which was supposed to 
be a Spanish trader. Spanish colours were accord- 
ingly hoisted in the Chance, to throw the stranger 
off her guard, and every exertion used to cut her 
off from the friendly port of Lima, then only a few 
miles distant. In this object the captain of the 
Chance, a Mr. White, was successful, and at about 
ten o'clock p.m. he got within pistol-shot and hailed 
to ask what ship she was. Rendered unsuspicious 
of the nationality and hostile object of their inquirer, 
both by her diminutive size and their own prepon- 
derating force, the Spaniards answered, the Amiable 
Maria, from Conception, bound to Lima; upon 
which Captain White, still looking upon his op- 
ponent as an un warlike trader, announced to them 
his real character, and at the same time com- 
menced a smart fire. The enemy not returning 
a shot, the second-lieutenant of the Chance, with 
a small party, was ordered away to board ; but 
before the boat was alongside, the Spaniards 



THE PRIVATE SHIP OF WAR. 259 

had recovered from their first surprise, and opened 
a brisk fire from his heavy battery of 18 and 
24 pounder brass guns. The Chance thus far 
had escaped with impunity, owing to the want of 
preparation for battle on board the Maria, whose 
decks were lumbered with her cables, all ready for 
use, as (when thus suddenly attacked) she was not 
more than seven miles from her anchoring-ground ; 
but the heavy nature of the enemy's guns quickly 
undeceived Mr. White. The Chance being but a 
boat compared with the Maria, he became instantly 
aware that his only hope of success lay in boarding, 
while the Spaniards were still in confusion. For 
this purpose he tried to get his vessel's bowsprit 
over the enemy's stern, but the wind was so light 
that his ship fell off in the attempt and exposed 
her own stern to a crushing broadside, which dis- 
mounted some of the guns and killed one of the 
officers. The British, however, soon extricated 
themselves from their perilous position, and were 
more fortunate in. their second attempt, for running 
their bowsprit over the enemy's quarter, they suc- 
ceeded in lashing it to the mizen-mast. The 
Spaniards met their foe hand to hand with the 
greatest bravery, and for some minutes the strife 
was maintained with great severity on the Chance's 
bowsprit, where the English commander, leading 
his men, was kept at bay during a long struggle by 
a gallant Spaniard, whose life, when afterwards at 
his mercy, ho spared in consequence of his bravery ; 
but at length he succeeded in gaining the poop, 

s 2 



260 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEING. 

where the fight was prolonged, every mch of deck 
being disputed sword in hand. The men were falling 
on both sides, the enemy's superiority in numbers 
only making their assail?mts more resolute to do or 
die, Y/hen in a desperate sally the English suc- 
ceeded in forcing their foes from the poop to the 
main deck, which they also cleared after a further 
resistance of three-quarters of an hour. In this 
struggle the Spanish captain was driven from the 
forecastle while in the act of pointing his bow guns, 
loaded with grape and canister, at his antagonists 
on the poop : another minute and he would in all 
probability have saved his ship. As it was he was 
disabled and forced below, his crew following him 
and maintaining the lower deck and cabins Avith 
long pikes in a most determined manner, until their 
numbers were reduced to 86 out of 220 men. 
Then and not till then they yielded and struck. 
No men ever fought with greater bravery. The 
decks were so covered with dead bodies that it was 
impossible to move without treading on them ; but 
amidst all this scene of horror the screams of a 
Spanish lady, a passenger in a state of phrensy, 
whose infant had been cut in two in her arms by a 
shot during the engagement, she herself being 
uninjured, are described as being such as to touch 
the most callous hearts with pity. An instance of 
ferocity such as hasbeen rarely equalled also occurred 
during the contest : a Chilian, one of the Spanish 
crew, whose arm was dreadfully shattered, was seen 
deliberately to cut the limb entirely off, and load 



THE PRIVATE SHIP OF WAR. 261 

his gun with it ; but a second shot killed the savage 
before he had power to fire. 

At the close of the action the two vessels were 
within four miles of the hostile port, the prize 
having almost all her shrouds, braces, and running 
rigging cut up ; but a smart breeze springing up, 
they were soon able to get a good offing. The 
loss of the Chance in this obstinate conflict was 
comparatively small, having had only one officer 
killed and three officers and two seamen badly 
wounded by pikes. The Spanish authorities on the 
coast were indignant at the success of the British 
ship, and the Viceroy of Lima a few days after sent 
a man-of-war out expressly to take the Chance, 
offering sixty pounds for every man brought in, 
dead or alive ; but the gallant Chances did not avoid 
their foe. They soon met. and after receiving three 
ineffective distant broadsides, Captain White or- 
dered his steward to give each man a glass of grog, 
and when they were now within pistol-shot he said 
to his crew, " Come, my lads, run your colours up 
and let them see to what country you belong.'' 
The ships now being yard-arm and yard-arm, they 
commenced firing with great effect ; and after a 
severe action of two hours and three-quarters the 
Spanish tug-of-war Limeiio, mounting 18 long nines 
and 12 brass four-pounders, manned with 180 men, 
struck her flag to the little Chance, which at the 
commencement of the action mounted 16 twelve 
and six pounders, with a complement of 50 men. 

The Spaniards had fourteen killed and seven 
wounded ; the Chance two killed and one wounded. 



262 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

Thus strikingly was the honour of the British 
flag maintained by a private ship of war in two 
actions which will bear comparison with any in the 
well -filled pages of naval history. 



MR. A'COURT. 



The present Admiral Repington, then Mr. 
A'Court, is the hero of a gallant boat affair, which, 
although most unaccountably left untold in official 
records, has been preserved in the pages of the 
naval historian James, and is as follows : — 

Mr. Edward Henry A'Court, with a marine and 
seven seamen, was despatched from the Blanche in 
the red cutter to collect sand for the use of the 
ship, and although it had been ordered that young- 
sters sent upon services of this kind, lest their 
pugnacious spirit should lead them into danger, 
were not to be allowed arms, the men in the boat, 
before they pushed off from the frigate, contrived to 
smuggle five or six muskets through the ports. It 
so happened that in the dusk of evening the boat 
fell in with a schooner, nearly becalmed. The 
midshipman and his party of sanders unhesitatingly 
pulled towards her, and as she had the appearance 
of a privateer, and might open a cannonade upon 
them, Mr. A' Court judiciously kept in her wake. 
Just as the boat had approached the stern of the 
schooner, a fire of musketry from the latter mortally 
wounded one man and badly wounded another of 
the boat party. Mr. A'Court nevertheless pulled 



CAPTURE OF THE ST. PEDRO. 263 

straight up alongside, and with the assistance of his 
five remaining hands boarded and carried a French 
schooner, bound to Cape Francois, having among 
her passengers a detachment of between 30 and 
40 soldiers, commanded by a Colonel who had 
fought, bled, and distinguished himself at the battle 
of Arcole. When asked how he could have sur- 
rendered to so insignificant a force, the French 
Colonel, with a shrug, replied, that it was all owing 
to ^^ le mal-de-mer," and that had he been on 
shore the case would have been otherwise. Let 
that have been as it may, the conduct of young 
A'Court evinced unparalleled gallantry, a con- 
siderable degree of judgment, and certainly both 
the officer and men deserved to have their names 
recorded for the bravery they had displayed. 



CAPTURE OF l^HE ST. PEDRO BY THE BOATS OF 
THE COMUS, IN MAY, 1807. 

From the Reminiscences of a Naval Officer. 

In March, 1807, the boats of the Comus, of 24 
guns, commanded by Captain Conway Shipley, 
were, when cruising off the Canary Islands, de- 
spatched under the orders of the Senior Lieu- 
tenant, George Edward Watts, to attempt the 
capture of six square-rigged vessels anchored in 
the harbour of Grand Canaria, under the protec- 
tion of powerful batteries. This service he accom- 



264 LEEDS OF NAYAL DARING. 

plished, with no casualjby beyond Lieutenant 
Campbell of the marines wounded. Having 
escorted her prizes to Gibraltar, the Comus re- 
turned to her former cruising-ground, where two 
or three coasting-vessels being taken. Lieutenant 
Watts was sent on shore at TenerifFe to negotiate 
their ransom. He was courteously received by the 
Spanish governor, a grandee of the most dignified 
demeanour, who readily gave his assent to the 
proposal, and entered, together with his staff (some 
of whom spoke the purest English), into an open 
and friendly conversation upon the enterprising 
spirit of the British navy. Having discovered 
that the capture of the vessels in the adjoining 
port, six weeks previously, had been effected bj^ 
the boats of the Comus, they gave Lieutenant 
Watts to understand that such success was quite 
attributable to the want of zeal and ability on the 
part of those who commanded the batteries ; that 
they had in consequence been tried and disgraced, 
and their places supplied by others, who, if w^e 
ever renewed the attempt, would give us a very 
different reception. Lieutenant Watts expressing 
his conviction, that in Spaniards he would ever 
meet brave and determined foes, ventured at the 
same time to hope that, should no such attempt 
be renewed, it would not by them be imputed to 
fear of the consequences ; to v/hich a prompt and 
full disclaimer being given, he inquired if any 
Spanish vessels had lately visited the islands ? 
^' Only one," was the reply ; and she, having made 



CAPTURE OF THE ST. PEDRO. 265 

good some defects, had again sailed with despatches 
for South America. 

The hesitating way in which this statement was 
made, coupled with the somewhat blustering 
threat above named, begat a suspicion in the mind 
of Lieutenant Watts, that if such a vessel had 
really arrived she was still in the port. This im- 
pression he made known to Caponin Shipley on his 
return, and at the sam^e time requested to have 
the boats confided to his charge in order to decide 
the point. The wind being favourable, the en- 
trance to the harbour was reached at eleven 
o'clock P.M., when the boats pushed in. The 
detour of the harbour was so closelj^ made that the 
oars touched the beach, and the sentries were 
heard pacing the ramparts, without any floating 
object being seen. Lieutenant Watts, together 
with his colleagues, consequently arrived at the 
conclusion that the bird had flown, and returned 
to his ship, then five miles in the offing. On 
mounting the gang^Yay he was -met by Captain 
Shipley, who observed, he feared the boats were 
too late to make the attack before daylight (which 
he had directed him not to attempt after). '^ Oh no, 
Sir," was the reply, " we were in abundant time, 
have fully examined the harbour, and found it 
empty." ^'Look there," he rejoined, pointing to 
the port, where no less than five or six vessels 
were lying close under the batteries, the outer and 
largest bearing the colours of the King of Spain, 
being in fact the very vessel he had been in quest 



266 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

of. To describe the look of dismay and the ago- 
nised feelings of the young Lieutenant, who, with 
the world before him, was panting for opportunity 
to earn promotion, would be indeed difficult. He, 
together with the Second Lieutenant, explained 
how the darkness had so identified the hulls of the 
vessels with the batteries and adjacent buildings 
(they being within a small inlet), that although 
the oars must have all but touched the large vessel, 
not one of the party even suspected her proximity ; 
that such being the case, he hoped his Captain 
would mercifully allow him to repair the mistake 
by intrusting the boats to his management in a 
further attempt. The answer was a decided nega- 
tive, grounded upon the plea, that the enemy, now 
so fully admonished of his danger, would make the 
enterprise far too hazardous for the very small 
force to be employed. In a word, that although 
success might attend it, there was no proportion 
between the risk to be incurred and the benefit to 
be derived — arguments which derived additional 
strength from the imposing attitude of the enemy, 
who, by flashing and burning blue lights every ten 
minutes throughout the night, proved that he was 
continually on the alert. For two successive days 
did Lieutenant Watts beseech for a relaxation 
without success ; but on the third day Captain 
Shipley, observing his deep dejection, and moved 
by the assurance that he felt his honour lost, and his 
character for ever blighted, if he did not yield his 
assent, supported moreover by Mr. Hood Knight, 



CAPTURE OF THE ST. PEDRO. 267 

the Second Lieutenant, he at length, with many 
misgivings, gave way, upon condition that the 
attack should be confined exclusively to the large 
vessel bearing the national flag. 

The boats, three in number, with forty officers 
and men, entered the harbour half an hour before 
midnight. On nearing the batteries some suspi- 
cious vessels resembling gun-boats appearing, the 
small cutter was sent to reconnoitre, while the 
launch, with a small carronade, was directed to 
occupy the attention of an enfilading battery, 
should its fire be opened upon them, the large 
cutter, commanded in person by Lieutenant Watts, 
lying in the mean time on her oars. The boats had 
hardly separated when the moon, emerging from a 
dark cloud in full splendour, discovered the enemy's 
vessel about fifty yards distant, crowded with both 
seamen and soldiers, and bristling from stem to 
stern with a phalanx of bayonets glistening in the 
moonbeams. To one who by his own efforts had 
entailed upon himself the terrible alternative of 
death or victory, it was indeed a thrilling and 
awful sight. Aware, however, of the advantage 
in such cases of instant action, before the agitated 
spirits of the adversary have time to rall)^ he 
hailed for his boats to return ; but, without waiting 
for their junction, he dashed forward in the midst 
of an enormous fire of musketry and cannon, which 
killed one man and wounded another mortally by 
his side. Calling upon his men to follow him, he 
sprang on the vessel's side, was met by a bayonet 



268 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

in the face, and forced overboard ; being, however, 
an excellent swimmer, he grappled the bends, and 
by dint of strength and activity wrought his way 
without a second wound into the midst of the for- 
midable group. And now ensued a scene of the 
most extraordinary and formidable character. The 
enemy in the van and rear, seeing the centre in 
action, rushed to its support, enclosing Lieutenant 
Watts on every point. By his plunge overboard 
he lost his cutlass, and his pistols being useless, he 
was restricted to the use of a small dagger, Avhich, 
however, in such a conjuncture proved the dead- 
liest of weapons, and enabled him to deal destruc- 
tion around. But in the midst of seventy men, 
forty of whom were grenadiers, his fighting to des- 
peration, unsupported as he was, could protract 
only for a few moments inevitable death. He had 
already been laid prostrate seven times by the 
but-ends of the soldiers' muskets, whose bayonets, 
when pointed at his breast, he had contrived 
to unscrew, and was bleeding from five sabre 
and seven bayonet wounds, when a grenadier, 
whose weapon entered behind his right shoulder 
and out at his left (making a groove in his back 
like a plough in a furrow), pinned him to the main- 
mast. The blow he thought mortal ; but at the 
moment a great and sudden movement took place, 
the whole body of the enemy seeming impelled, 
as it were, by an overwhelming wave from one side 
of the vessel to the other. The soldier, withdraw- 
ing his bayonet, Lieutenant Watts had still strength 



CAPTUEE OF THE ST. PEDRO. 269 

enough left to close and lay him dead at his feet, 
and then, looking to discover the cause of the move- 
ment alluded to, found to his infinite delight that 
it was caused by an attack in their rear by his own 
boat's crew, who, at first driven off by the heavy 
fire, were afterwards, by the vessel being left unde- 
fended, enabled to board, and come to the rescue. 
Lieutenant Watts, who was bareheaded and de- 
luged with blood, was first sighted by Patrick 
Lorry, an Irishman, who, with characteristic 
energy, exclaimed, '^ By J — s, my boys, here's our 
officer all alive yet ! Have at 'em ! " " Have at 
them, my brave boys ! " shouted their Lieutenant, 
whose ebbing spirits and failing strength becoming 
instantly resuscitated, enabled him to lead an ener- 
getic assault, which in ten minutes ended by the 
whole body of the enemy, except seven, being 
killed, wounded, or driven overboard, the captain 
being one of the slain. The prisoners were just 
secured, when the other boats arriving, the cables 
were cut, and the prize taken in tow, when, to the 
dismay of the captors, she was discovered to be 
Hearing the batteries against the strain of the tow- 
ropes. Lieutenant Watts instantly ordered the 
boats to cast off, and seek for the hawser under water 
by which a large force on shore were dragging her 
under the very muzzles of the guns. In a few 
seconds William Mountford, the bowman of the 
cutter, shouted that he had hold of it. " Nick it^, 
my brave lad, nick it ! " responded his officer ; and 
with the aid of a tomahawk away it went with a 



270 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

surge that probably laid the party engaged in the 
. work upon their backs ; for in an instant the 
battery opened fire^ which was immediately sup- 
ported by the blaze of thirty-two pieces of heavy 
artillery throughout the circuit of the harbour. But 
the boats gallantly performed their work by bearing 
off triumphantly the hard-won prize without any 
additional loss. 

Lieutenant Watts had his left arm broken, in 
addition to thirteen wounds, besides being covered 
with contusions. He was awarded a sword of 
fifty guineas value, and a pecuniary reward of 
100/. by the Patriotic Fund. But neither thanks 
nor promotion was given by the Admiralty for a 
service which, in point of exertion and peril, had 
rarely been equalled, and perhaps never surpassed, 
comprising in itself the concentration of a dozen 
actions ; and it serves to prove the inadeauacy of 
T/he best rules for rewarding service, when the fact 
is recorded, that Lieutenant Watts does not bear 
even a clasp for it with his war medal. 

The boat which singly performed this service 
contained but eighteen men, only sixteen of whom 
boarded ; one was killed and five wounded, in- 
cluding Lieutenant Watts, whose wounds were 
barely cicatrized, when he had the good fortune to 
win his promotion by the following exploit: — 
Capture of the Danish frigate Fredericks woern. 
The Comus, having escorted her Spanish prize to 
Gibraltar, sailed for Spithead. 



CATCHING A TARTAR. 271 

CATCHING A TARTAR. 

edt 

When our naval heroes were reaping their laurels 
in the flowery land of Pekoe and Souchong, the 
arrogant pretensions of their awkward foemen pro- 
voked them to many deeds which they would not 
have adventured against more active and less con- 
ceited antagonists. On one occasion, Commander 
Fitzjames, whose sense and enjoyment of the ludi- 
crous fullj^ equalled his daring, had landed from 
the Cornwallis, in the river Yang-tse-kiang, and, 
leaving his boat's crew to amuse themselves on the 
beach below, accompanied by the coxswain of the 
boat only, clambered up an almost precipitous cliff 
overhanging the river for the purpose of making a 
sketch of the surrounding scenery. While thus 
employed, and unsuspicious of danger, he once or 
twice thought he heard a movement in the dense 
mass of shrubs that clothed the hill side in his 
rear and above liis head ; but, seeing nothing, he 
proceeded with his amusing task. At length the 
sounds became less equivocal, and turning sharply 
round he caught a glimpse of some Tartars, who, 
however, instantly concealed themselves. Feigning 
that he had not noticed their presence, Fitzjames 
took occasion to call to his coxswain, and desired 
him to go down and get the boat's crew in readi- 
ness for an instantaneous start, when he himself 
should come down. Left entirely alone he awaited 
the attack of his treacherous foes, who stealthily 
advanced, trusting to take their barbarian visitor 



272 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEII^ra. 

by surprise. But Fitzjames, who knew that their 
object would be to take him alive, was fully pre- 
pared ; and, no sooner had the boldest, a mandarin 
of some rank, approached within arm's-reach, than 
he suddenly grappled with him, and, throwing 
himself ^nd the astonished celestial on the ground, 
commenced rolling over down the declivity with 
his prisoner, and amidst the cheers of his own men, 
and to the blank dismay of his numerous oppo- 
nents, who crowned the summit, trundled the 
captured mandarin on board, minus sometliing 
more than his silken garments, which fluttered on 
the rocky side of the hill. The captive was well re- 
ceived on board the Cornwallis, and kindly treated ; 
but the ignominy of his mode of capture must have 
rankled in his breast, and he took the first oppor- 
tunity of jumping overboard and drowning himself. 
The doom of Fitzjames, had he been taken, 
would no doubt have been one of the wooden cages 
in which all prisoners, however taken, were paraded 
about the country, and exhibited as objects of 
Chinese prowess. But from this he v/as spared, to 
form one of the bold band of heroes who now for 
seven long years have been confined, with Franklin, 
within their wooden walls in the icy regions of the 
North Pole. 



BLAKE. 

The life of Robert Blake, General of the Land 
Forces and Admiral of the Fleets of England, 



BLAKE. 273 

during the rule of Cromwell, affords some fine 
examples illustrative of the daring and decision of 
the English character when called out by the 
exigencies of the naval service. Possessed with a 
most exalted opinion of the prowess and preten- 
sions of Englishmen he seems to have considered 
no odds of numbers or disadvantages of position 
worthy of consideration where his country's honour 
was concerned, and he supported the Lord Protector 
most efficiently in his avowed resolution of " mak- 
ing the name of Englishman as great as ever that 
of Eoman had been."* At the mature age of fifty 
years this extraordinary man, after having proved 
himself a good soldier, during the unhappy strife 
of the Civil Wars, by his successful defence of the 
town of Taunton against the Royal forces under 
Lord Goring, first took the command of our fleets, 

* Bishop Burnet relates a story which exemplifies this resolution 
of making the name of Englishman as much respected as ever that of 
Roman had been. When Blake was at Malaga, during a time of peace 
between this country and Spain, some of his sailors went on shore, and 
meeting the procession of the Host, not only neglected to pay it any 
respect, but jeered at those who did. The populace, instigated by 
their priest, resented this insult, and falling apon the offenders beat 
them severely. Upon the news of their ill-treatment coming to Blake's 
ears, he sent to demand the priest who had incited the mob. The 
Viceroy answered, that, having no authority over the priests, he re- 
gretted that he was unable to send him ; to which Blake shortly replied, 
that he did not inquire into the extent of the Viceroy's authority, but 
that if the priest was not sent in three hours he would burn the town. 
The priest was consequently sent, and in his defence pleaded the pro- 
vocation given by the seamen : to which Blake answered, that if a 
complaint had been addressed to him, the seamen should have been 
punished ; but that he w^as angry that the Spaniards should have 
assumed that power, as he would have all the world to know that an 
Englishman was only to be punished by Englishmen. Blake, satisfied 
with having thus asserted his power, dismissed the priest, whom he 
had treated with great civility. 

T 



274 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

leading them to victory, and winning fresh laurels 
upon their own element from his world-known oppo- 
nents, Tromp, de Ruyter, and de Witt. Here his 
want of experience seems, although it may sound 
paradoxical, to have been of great service to him : 
he followed the light of his own genius only, and was 
soon seen to have all the courage, the conduct, and 
the precipitancy of a good sea officer. Clarendon 
says of him, '^ that he was the first man that 
declined the old track, and made it apparent that 
the sciences might be attained in less time than 
was imagined. He was the first man that brought 
ships to contemn castles on shore, which had ever 
been thought very formidable, but were discovered 
by him to make a noise only, and to fright those 
who could rarely be hurt by them. He was the 
first that infused that proportion of courage into 
seamen by making them see by experience what 
mighty things they could do* if they were resolved, 
and taught them to fight in fire as well as upon 
water ; and though he has been very well imitated 
and followed, was the first that gave the example 
of that kind of naval courage and bold and resolute 
achievement/' 

Such is the royalist historian's evidence of this 
great man, whose impetuous courage, verging on 
temerity in many instances, only escapes that judg- 
ment by the extraordinary success that attended 
his movements. One of such instances occurred 
in his first encounter with Tromp. The states of 
Holland having arrived during our civil troubles 



BLAKE. 275 

at tlie height of naval power without opposition, 
and without competition, seem to have sought for 
and provoked the war of 1652, solely for the pur- 
pose of combating the long-maintained supremacy 
of the English flag in the narrow seas, a supre- 
macy enforced against all foreigners almost down 
to our times, by compelling them to strike their 
colours on meeting our flag.* Hostilities had not yet 
been declared when Tromp, with a fleet of forty-five 
men-of-war, appeared in the Downs, where Blake 
was lying. The latter, who had but twenty ships 
under his orders, upon the approach of the Dutch 
Admiral fired three single shots across his bows 
to require that he should, by striking his colours, 
show that respect to the flag which had been always 
customary in what were considered the seas under 
British dominion. Tromp answered with a broad- 
side, at the same time hanging out the red flag 
under the Dutch colours, as the signal for a general 
engagement. Blake, in a vehement passion, and 
curling his v/hiskers, as the old writers say he used 
to do when angry, commanded his men to answer 
the Dutch in their kind, and for some time stood 
alone in his flag-ship against the whole force of the 
enemy, when the rest of the squadron coming up 

* In 1755, Captain How, of the Dunkirk, then forming part of Lord 
Eoscawen's fleet, falling in with the French fleet on the coast of New- 
foundland, hailed them, and ordered them to pay the usual compliments 
to the British flag, and, upon their refusing, fired a broadside into the 
Alcide ; upon which followed an engagement which lasted five hours, 
ending in the surrender of the Alcide, and which was fought at such 
close quarters that a man killed on the Alcide's yard fell into the Dun- 
kirk, which lost ninety men in the engagement. 

T 2 



276 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEIJs^G. 

the fight was continued from four in the afternoon 
until nine at night, the Dutch then retreating and 
leaving two of their ships in his hands. Blake, in 
his public letter reporting the action, concludes 
by recapitulating his losses, and states — "We have 
six men of ours slain and nine or ten desperately 
wounded, and twenty-four more not without 
danger. We have received about seventy great 
shot in our hull and masts — incur sails and rigging 
without number — being engaged with the whole 
body of the fleet for the space of four hours — being 
the mark at which they aimed." Such was the 
first of those sea fights in which Robert Blake 
nobly upheld the honour of the flag against the 
most renowned Admirals of Holland. This action 
was quickly followed up by others, not only with 
the Dutch, but with the Barbary States and 
Spaniards, in which success seems invariably to have 
attended all his movements ; but his last and crown- 
ing victory occurred on the 20th of April, 1657, a 
few months before his death ; and as this was the 
scene of our hero Nelson's defeat 150 years after- 
wards, I will give some detail of it. Blake 
had received intelligence that the Spanish fleet 
lay at anchor in the bay of Santa Cruz, in the 
island of Teneriffe, where they were protected by 
the castle and seven other forts, close under which 
they were able to move owing to the great 
depth of water. Nothing daunted by their 
apparently impregnable position, he determined 
to attack them, and with this object ordered his 



BLAKE. 277 

second in command, with the largest ships, to 
occupy the attention of the land batteries, while 
he himself attacked the Spanish galleons ; these, 
after a gallant resistance, were at length abandoned 
by their crews, though the least of them was bigger 
than the biggest of Blake's ships, and the forts 
and smaller vessels having been meantime silenced, 
the whole fleet was set on fire, the Spaniards sustain- 
ing a great loss in ships, money, men and merchan- 
dise, while the English gained nothing but glory. 

The historian Clarendon, whom we have already 
quoted, says, ^Hhe whole action was so miraculous 
that all men who knew the place wondered that 
any sober man, with what courage soever endowed, 
would ever have undertaken it, and they could 
hardly persuade themselves to believe what they 
had done, whilst the Spaniards comforted them- 
selves with the belief that they were devils and not 
men who had destroyed them in such a manner. 
So much a strong resolution of bold and courageous 
men can bring to pass, that no resistance and ad- 
vantage of ground can disappoint them ; a,nd it can 
hardly be imagined how small a loss the English 
sustained in this unparalleled action, not one ship 
being left behind, and the killed and wounded not 
exceeding 200 men, when the slaughter on board 
the Spanish ships and on shore was incredible.'' 

Cromwell, on the receipt of the intelligence of 
this victory, communicated it to the Parliament 
then sitting, by whom a public thanksgiving was 
ordered ; a diamond ring of the value of 500Z. was 



278 DEEDS OF NAYAL DARIN^G. 

directed to be sent to Blake, and 100/. was pre- 
sented to the captain who brought the news ; 
and, in addition, the thanks of the House to all the 
officers and seamen engaged. 

This was almost his last exploit, and Blake 
only just survived to receive the honours and re- 
wards voted to him by Parliament. His anxiety, 
like that of our modern hero CoUingwood, seems 
to have been once more to look upon his native 
land, but this was denied him also. Mr. Dixon, in 
his lately published life, has painted the noble 
sailor's dying hour in touching language, which I 
will here quote : — ^^ Leaving Cadiz and hoisting 
his pennon on his old flag-ship, the St. George, 
Blake saw for the last time the spires and cupolas, 
the masts and towers before which he had kept his 
long and victorious vigils. While he put for fresh 
waters into Cascaes road he was very weak. I 
beseech God to strengthen him ! was the fervent 
prayer of the English resident at Lisbon as he 
departed on the homeward voyage. While the 
ships rolled through the tempestuous waters of 
the Bay of Biscay he grew every day worse and 
worse. Some gleams of the old spirit broke forth 
as they approached the latitude of England. He 
inquired often and anxiously if the white cliffs 
were yet in sight. He longed to behold the 
swelling Downs, the free cities, the goodly churches 
of his native land, but he was now dying beyond 
all doubt. Many of his favourite officers silently 
and mournfully crowded round his bed anxious to 



BLAKE. 279 

catch the last tones of a voice which had so often 
called them to glory and victory. Others stood at 
the poop and forecastle ea^gerly examining every 
speck and line on the horizon, in hope of being 
first to catch the welcome glimpse of land. Though 
they were coming home crowned with laurels, 
gloom and pain were on every face. At last the 
Lizard was announced ; shortly afterwards the bold 
cliffs and bare hills of Cornwall loomed out grandly 
in the distance, but it was now too late for the 
dying hero. He had sent for the captain and 
other great officers of his fleet to bid them fare- 
well, and while they were yet in his cabin the 
undulating hills of Devonshire, glowing in the full 
tints of early autumn, came full in view. As the 
ships rounded Ranee Head, the spires and masts of 
Plymouth, the woody height of Mount Edge- 
cumbe, the low island of St. Nicholas, the rocky 
steepes of the Hoe, Mount Batten, the citadel, the 
many picturesque and familiar features of the mag- 
nificent harbour, rose one by one to sight. But the 
eyes which had so yearned to behold this scene once 
more were at that very instant closing in death. 
Foremost of the victorious squadron the St. George 
rode with its precious burden into the Sound ; and 
just as it came in full view of the eager thousands 
crowding the beach, the pier heads, the walls of 
the citadel, or darting countless boats over the 
smooth waters between St. Nicholas and the docks, 
ready to catch the first glimpse of the hero of Santa 
Cruz, and salute him with a true English welcome ; 



280 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARIN^G. 

he, in his silent cabin, in the midst of his lion- 
hearted comrades, now sobbing like little children, 
yielded up his soul to God." 

Such was his death. A public funeral was all 
that remained for a grateful country to bestow. 
His body was brought up to London with all public 
pomp,— the Lord Protector being anxious to " en- 
courage other officers to venture their lives that 
they might be pompously buried," — and was in- 
terred in King Henry the Seventh's chapel, sur- 
rounded by the monuments of our Kings. 



THE YOUNG PRETENDER. 

The following narrative derives additional in- 
terest from its having been intimately connected 
with the fortunes of the Young Pretender ; and 
when we bear in mind that the bravery and daring 
manifested by the Captain of the Lion, unwittingly 
on his part, exercised a powerful influence on the 
eventual failure of the Stuarts, by depriving his 
partizans of the munitions of war which they were 
expecting, it may fairly be said that Captain Percy 
Brett was a main instrument of Providence towards 
insuring the stability of the House of Hanover, 
whose tenure of the crown of these realms might 
have been seriously shaken had the Elizabeth been 
permitted to pursue her course unmolested. 

Charles Edward had embarked in July, 1745, 
upon his ill-starred expedition in a small frigate, 



THE YOUNG PRETENDER. 281 

escorted by the French ship of the line Elizabeth, 
of 64 guns, on board which latter ship 400,000/. in 
money had been embarked, and arms for several 
thousand men. The Prince himself had taken a pas- 
sage in the frigate, the better to escape the vigilance 
of the numerous cruizers which were at sea ready to 
intercept him. On the 9th of July, Captain Percy 
Brett, in the Lion of 58 guns, cruizing off the 
Lizard, descried this armament at three in the 
afternoon ; and having the wind in his favour, the 
enemy being to leeward, without any consideration 
of the disparity of force, he bore down on them, 
when they hoisted French colours, but still con- 
tinued on their course. At five o'clock the Lion 
had ranged up within pistol-shot of the Elizabeth, 
and the action commenced with great fury, the 
Frenchman striving to disable his adversary in his 
sails and rigging, so as to secure the safety of the 
frigate under his convoy. In this he perfectly 
succeeded, for by nine o'clock the Lion's masts 
were shot through and through, and her standing 
and running rigging totally destroyed, and, to use 
Captain Brett's own words, " he lay muzzled and 
could do nothing." The enemy did not receive 
much damage in his masts and yards, but his hull 
was dreadfully shattered, and at ten o'clock he 
sheered off, taking a farewell from two of the 
Lion's 24 pounders, and in an hour was out of 
sight. The small ship, in the beginning of the 
engagement, had made two attempts to rake the 
Lion, but her stern chase guns soon beat her off, 



282 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

and after that she lay at a respectful distance. 
During the four hours which it lasted this action 
was fought within pistol-shot, and the slaughter was 
consequently very great— the Lion losing 52 killed 
and 100 wounded ; and it was subsequently ascer- 
tained that the Elizabeth reached Brest in a very 
disabled state, with 64 men killed and 136 wounded, 
many dangerously. Captain Brett, in his official 
letter, states that his greatest dependence during 
the action lay in his officers in the several stations, 
and that they behaved extremely well, except the 
Captain of Marines, whom he put under arrest for 
skulking behind some bags upon the poop, setting 
so bad an example to his men, that when they 
w^ere summoned below to supply the places of the 
men killed at the guns it was with great difficulty 
that they were driven down. 

The Captain, all his Lieutenants, and the Master, 
were wounded early in the action, but, notwith- 
standing, they continued to encourage the men at 
their guns to the last, and the First Lieutenant was 
only carried off when no longer able to stand. 



DESTRUCTION OF THE BUCCANEERS. 

At the commencement of the last century, the 
commerce of this country with the coast of Africa 
and the West India Islands was completely para- 
lyzed by the depredations of a band of pirates, 
more commonly called buccaneers, who held an 



DESTRUCTION OF THE BUCCANEERS. 283 

almost unchecked dominion on the high seas for 
some years. These freebooters, under the command 
of a man of the name of Roberts, had established 
themselves in some force on the coast of Africa, 
whence their piratical fleet, consisting of three 
stout ships, one, the Royal Fortune, of 40 guns 
and 150 men ; another, the Ranger, of 32 guns and 
132 men ; and the third, the Little Ranger, of 24? 
guns and 90 men, sallied forth in uncurbed in- 
solence, levjdng their contributions not only upon 
the unfortunate mariners with whom they might 
fall in, but also frequently stretching across 
the Atlantic, and landing and ravaging the 
coasts of our West Indian colonies. Their auda- 
city and power had at length attained to such 
a pitch that the government of the day issued a 
proclamation offering a free pardon to all who 
might surrender themselves within a certain tim^e, 
while they also adopted the more sensible course 
of sending out two ships, the Swallow and Wey- 
mouth, under the command of an active and 
gallant officer, Captain Sir Challoner Ogle (the 
second of that name who has distinguished himself 
in the naval service), to compel that submission 
which they did not anticipate from the more 
lenient measures. For many months the exertions 
of the commanders of the royal ships were inef- 
fectual ; Roberts's spies were too numerous, and 
kept him too well informed of his pursuers^ move- 
ments, even to give them a chance of coming up 
with them ; and Sir Challoner Ogle was at length 



284 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEING. 

compelled to seek some harbour where he might 
careen and refit his ships. While he was in this posi- 
tion, Eoberts and his lieutenants pursued their avo- 
cations with redoubled vigour, and even ventured 
to show themselves within sight of the place where 
Ogle was refitting. When ready to proceed to sea 
again, Captain Ogle despatched the Weymouth to 
protect the trade in one direction, whilst he himself 
proceeded in another in pursuit of his enemy, 
whom at length he had the satisfaction of tracing 
to a bay in the vicinity of Cape Lopez. Single- 
handed the Swallow was hardly a match for the 
three desperadoes, and Captain Ogle decided on 
resorting to a stratagem to effect their destruction 
in detail. Disguising the Swallow as a French 
merchant ship, he passed under easy sail across the 
entrance of the bay, thus exciting the cupidity of 
the pirates with hopes of a valuable prize. Roberts 
himself was high up in the bay, but he made the 
signal to his second in command, one Skyon, who, 
in the Ranger, was lying in the most favourable 
position for chasing, to proceed and capture the 
supposed merchantman. The Swallow now made 
sail as if to escape, but only to decoy the pirate 
to such a distance that the report of the firing 
might not be heard by her consorts ; when, sud- 
denly tacking upon her surprised antagonist, and 
hoisting the English ensign, she brought her to 
close action. Skyon was wounded at the first 
broadside ; but such was the desperation with which 
his people fought, knowing the ignominious death 



DESTRUCTION OF THE BUCCANEERS. 285 

that awaited them if captured, that they did not 
surrender until after a sharp contest of an hour 
and halfs duration, when the bloody flag was 
hauled down and the Eanger taken possession of. 
Having thus secured one of his foes, Captain Ogle 
had next to consider how he could best capture 
the other two. Hoisting the piratical colours, the 
Death's head and crossed bones, over the French, 
he returned to the bay where he had left the 
Royal Fortune and the Little Ranger, which ships 
meanwhile had been prepared for sea, and were 
coining out to the support of their consort. Roberts, 
deceived by Captaiu Ogle's ruse, bore down Avith- 
out suspicion to congratulate his lieutenant on his 
supposed success, and was only made aware of his 
mistake by the rough welcome of a shotted broad- 
side : but the pirate was not a man to surrender 
without a struggle ; the fight was maintained with 
warmth for more than two hours, nor was his ship 
yielded until he was himself killed and all further 
resistance was hopeless. 

Captain Ogle carried his three prizes and the 
surviving prisoners, 160 in number (more than 
200 having fallen in the conflict), to Caj)e Coast 
Castle, where they were directly put on their trial ; 
74 were convicted, and of that number 52 were 
executed, having been hanged in chains at short 
distances from each other along the coast. For 
this important service the honour of knighthood 
was bestowed on the gallant Captain on his return 
to England, and the crew of the Swallow were 
allowed to divide the spoils taken from the pirates. 



286 • DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEING. 



THE TABLES TURNED, 

In the life of Captain John Myers, a seaman of 
the old war, who commenced his career in the navy, 
but passed his riper years as officer and commander 
of private ships of war, there is a strange story 
recorded which well deserves a place in these 
pages, exhibiting as it does an instance of one ot 
the boldest stratagems that fortune ever crowned 
with success. 

While Mr. Myers was acting as first lieutenant 
of the Tamar privateer, in September, 1806, 
cruizing near the island of Madagascar, they cap- 
tured a ship belonging to the Isle of France, 
called the Bon Fortune, into which he was put 
with fourteen men under his orders to navigate 
her to a friendly port. The day following, 
having lost sight of the Tamar, the small crew of 
the Bon Fortune perceived a strange sail bearing 
down on their starboard beam, which, from her 
mode of sailing and general appearance, they had 
little doubt was Le Brave, a French privateer of 
16 guns and ISO men — a very fast sailer, and one 
which had long been the terror of those seas. 
Escape from her by flight was as hopeless as any 
resistance, and the prize-crew packed up their traps 
in readiness for their transfer to the ship of their 
anticipated captors ; but the breeze was very light, 
and the privateer in consequence a long time in 
closing, aud the respite thus afforded gave Mr. 
Myers time to arrange a plan for the capture of 
the enemy, which he informed his small crew 



THE TABLES TUENED. 287 

would certainly succeed if they would render him 
the necessary assistance, and all hands instantly 
agreed to act according to his wishes. 

Mr. Myers' stratagem, and the hopes of success 
he built upon it, was derived from the well-known 
habit of Le Brave's crew of carrying all vessels that 
offered resistance by boarding with the whole 
of their force. He therefore brought his lar- 
board guns to the starboard side, being that 
on which the privateer was approaching, thus 
showing a vessel capable of defence ; and 
having loaded them, he ordered the remainder of 
the ammunition on board to be thrown into the sea. 
He then caused his only boat to be lowered from 
the stern, put some fire-arms into it ready primed 
and loaded, and secured it alongside close to the 
larboard port of the cabin. Having thus made all 
his arrangements, and carefully seen that all his 
orders were executed, Mr. Myers told his men, in 
the event of the privateer's crew boarding, as he 
expected they would, to follow him to the cabin, 
and thence through the port into the boat. Even- 
ing had closed round them, when the privateer ran 
down within pistol-shot, and received the fire from 
the four guns of the Bon Fortune, which she as 
quickly returned by a full broadside, and then 
running her bowsprit into the ship's rigging, with 
three cheers, " Vive I'Empereur !'' the privateer's 
crew rushed on board. Finding his expectations 
so far realized, Mr. Myers retreated to the cabin, 
followed by his crew, some of the French running 



288 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEING. 

after them, and placing sentries at the cabin-door 
to prevent a sally. 

By this time the two vessels had separated about 
a cable's length, when the supposed captives 
jumped into their boat, cut the painter, and, quietly 
pulling round under the stern, boarded the enemy. 
Only four men had been left in her, and these ran 
to oppose them at the gangway, but two fell mor- 
tally wounded, and the other two were secured and 
placed in irons, and the Brave's sails trimmed and 
course steered to take her clear of the prize. Mr. 
Myers, however, was not yet satisfied with his 
triumph, and bringing his guns to bear, he ran under 
his late ship's stern and hailed her. After much 
confusion, the French captain appeared on deck, 
when Mr. Myers informed him that he was quite 
satisfied with the exchange, and that he knew the 
Frenchman's position much better than he himself 
did, that he had no powder on board, nor a boat 
to follow him, and that Le Brave had every advan- 
tage in sailing. He added that the cargo on board 
was of no value, and that he would as soon sink the 
ship as not, but that if the Frenchman would steer 
the course he directed they should be treated as 
prisoners of war. To this they assented, and both 
vessels proceeded on their course until they fell 
in with the Tamar three days after. That ship's 
company was in every way prepared for action, 
and, notwithstanding Mr. Myers made every pri- 
vate signal, he could not convince them of the 
actual state of affairs. Failing in all his endeavours, 



ISIS AND ZELE. 289 



he ordered his men below, and immediately receiv- 
ing the Tamar's broadside, he lowered his topsails 
and made every mark of submission, when Captain 
Wilson of the Tamar came on board, and was most 
agreeably surprised to find his shipmates in posses- 
sion of the much-dreaded privateer. Mr. Myers 
continued in command of the Brave for a few 
months, when he was taken by the French frigate 
Tamise, and carried into Port Louis. Some of the 
Frenchmen, who were still on board, told the cap- 
tain of the frigate of the way in which they had 
been taken. He could not refrain from most im- 
moderate fits of laughter, and, shaking hands with 
Mr. Myers, informed him that all his property was 
sacred, and that anything on board the frigate was 
at his command. He was sincere in his professions, 
and during his subsequent captivity his attention 
and civility were very great ; and on the evening 
previous to Mr. Myers' departure from Port Louis, 
Captain Villeneuve gave a splendid ball, to which 
he invited all the inhabitants, as a token of his 
esteem for his prisoner. 



ISIS AND ZELE. 



The year 1782 presents to our notice an action 
which demonstrates the wonders that may be per- 
formed by a well-commanded and well-disciplined 
British ship of war. "When the British and French 
fleets, at that time opposed to each other on the 

u 



290 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

coast of America, had been scattered by a tempest, 
it chanced that the British ship Isis, of 50 guns 
and 350 men, fell in with the French 74, Z4]4 
with 800 men. The French ship carried a rear- 
admiral's flag, and bore confidently down upon her 
smaller foe, and, as she was a far better sailer, soon 
brought her to action Undismayed by the odds, 
Captain Raynor, of the Isis, supported, in his reso- 
lution of defending his ship to the last, by the bravery 
of his officers and men, employed all the resources 
of skilful and judicious seamanship so to manoeuvre 
his vessel that he completely confounded his ad- 
' versary. The unhesitating obedience to his orders, 
both of officers and men, trained to a degree of 
perfection in the management of the sails as well 
as the exercise of the guns, conspired more per- 
haps than their undaunted courage to defeat their 
enemy ; who, after an action of an hour and a 
half, was actually beaten off, having suffered ap- 
parently most severely, and only inflicting a loss of 
one killed and fifteen wounded on the English 
ship. 

ADMIRAL MACBRIDE. 

Single actions between ships of the line have 
been of very rare occurrence in naval warfare, and 
whenever they have taken place they have of 
course so much the more attracted observation and 
remark. It would seem to be almost a matter of 
course that when such mighty foes as ships of the 
line are pitted against each other, such actions 



ADMIRAL MACBRIDE. 291 

must be attended with great destruction of human 
life ; but even in well-fought engagements this has 
not always been the case, and in that between the 
English Bienfaisant and French Comte d' Artois, each 
of 64 guns^ while the loss of the English was so small 
as to appear scarcely credible, that of the French 
was by no means what might have been expected 
by the unprofessional reader, who would look for 
a complete annihilation of the occupants of the two 
wooden boxes thus pouring the iron shower of shot 
into each other at close quarters. Both the above- 
named ships may be said to have been commanded 
by Irishmen, for Captain Macbride of the Bienfaisant 
claimed the Emerald Isle for his birthplace, and 
Monsieur Clonard of the Comte d'Artois, although 
born in France, was of Irish parents. In conse- 
quence of her captain's connection with that coun- 
try, the Comte d'Artois had been stationed to 
harass our trade on the coast of Ireland, and the 
mischief she had done had induced the Admiralty 
of the day to send several vessels to look out for 
her. It was, however, the good fortune of the 
Bienfaisant to meet her ; and that ship surprised 
her at daylight one morning off the Old Head of 
Kinsale, in the middle of a convoy of our merchant 
ships. Desirous of emulating the exploits of Du- 
guay Trouin, whose chief successes were due to 
boarding, it seems that M. Clonard had trained his 
people to that style of warfare, and he therefore 
hoisted English colours in order to lure the Captain 
of the Bienfaisant to approach within grappling 

u 2 



292 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEING. 

distance. Captain Macbride, a thorough sailor and 
skilful manoeuvrer, had a very shrewd guess at the 
stranger's real character, and, while he ranged up 
alongside and entered into conversation with his 
enemy, was endeavouring to place his ship in the 
most effective position. This farce of pretended 
ignorance on both sides soon resolved itself into 
tragedy ; but, strange to say, when the action did 
commence it was with musketry only, for neither 
ship could bring a gun to bear upon the other. 
This state of affairs did not, however, last many 
minutes, for Captain Macbride soon placed the 
Bienfaisant in the desired position on his enemy's 
bow, which her superior sailing enabled him to do, 
and opened a raking fire fore and aft upon the 
Comte d'Artois, with such effect, that her crew 
were unable to stand to their guns or work their 
ship, and she was shortly compelled to surrender 
with loss of 21 killed and 35 wounded ; while the 
Bienfaisant had only 8 killed and 22 wounded, 
and had suffered so little in other respects that no 
person could have told that she had been in action. 
Captain Macbride's judicious management induced 
detractors to endeavour to lessen the merit of a 
victory obtained with so little loss ; as they, forsooth, 
could not understand why he did not range up, 
and " fight it out broadside to broadside in a manly 
style." 

Previous to this action Captain Macbride had 
distinguished himself for his humanity, as well as 
his courage, in engaging and capturing the Phoenix, 



ADMIRAL MACBRIDE 293 

bearing the flag of the Spanish Admiral, Don Juan 
de Langara. Having compelled that ship to strike, 
and sent a lieutenant and party of men to take pos- 
session of her, his humanity made him shrink from 
bringing any of his prisoners on board his own 
ship, in which malignant small-pox was raging, 
and thereby subjecting them to all the dangers of 
infection. He therefore drew up and submitted 
the following agreement to the Spanish Admiral, 
which in its fulfilment is a pleasing record of 
Spanish honour and English humanity, both ships 
subsequently arriving safely in Gibraltar Bay : — 

" Bienfaisant at Sea, January 18, 1780. 

" The small-pox being on board H.M.S. Bien- 
faisant of a malignant kind, the feelings of a 
British officer cannot allow him to introduce an 
infection even among his enemies. From this 
consideration, and the very gallant defence made 
by Admiral Langara and his officers. Captain 
Macbride consents that neither officers nor men 
shall be removed from the Phoenix, taken by 
H.B.M. ships Defence and Bienfaisant, Admiral 
Langara being responsible for the conduct of his 
officers and men ; and in case that we fall in 
with any Spanish or French ships of war, he will 
not suffer Lieut. Thomas Louis, his officer, to be 
interrupted in conducting and defending the ship 
to the last extremity, agreeable to his orders ; and 
if, meeting with superior force, the ship should be 
retaken, and the Bienfaisant fight her way clear. 
Admiral Don Juan de Langara, his officers and 



294 DEEDS OF NAYAL DAEING. 

men, are to hold themselves prisoners of war to 
Captain Macbride upon their parole of honour 
(which he is confident with Spanish officers is ever 
sacred). Likewise if the Bienfaisant should be 
taken, and the Phoenix escape, the Admiral Don 
Juan de Langara, his officers, &c., will no longer 
be prisoners, but freed immediately. In short, 
they are to follow the fate of the Bienfaisant. 

(Signed) " John Macbkide. 

" JlTAN Ig. de LANGAEA." 

Another instance of the strange disproportion in 
loss of life, which so frequently occurred in encoun- 
ters between our ships and those of the enemy, 
occurs in the naval career of Admiral Macbride. 
Various explanations have been offered to account 
for these disproportionate losses, which have been 
put down by many as absurd exaggerations ; but 
there is no reasonable ground to doubt the correct- 
ness of such returns, as our own are always pre- 
pared with rigorous fidelity, and are in fact looked 
upon as legal documents, while those of the enemy 
are always taken from their own depositions and a 
careful reference to the ship's papers. In the 
actio a to which I now refer. Captain Macbride 
commanded the Artois, a frigate of 44 guns, when 
he was chased by two ships of 24 guns and 150 
men each. He says : — " About two o'clock in the 
morning I brought them both to action, but paid 
attention only to the one on our quarter till we 
had effectually winged her : then pushed forward 
and closed with the other which was engaged on 



FOUL-WEATHER JACK. 295 

our bow. In about thirty minutes sbe struck, we 
sent a boat on board to take possession, and wore 
round after the other, who was making off, but 
who also struck on our coming up. They proved 
to be the Hercules and Mars, commanded by two 
Hogenboomes, father and son, inhabitants of 
Flushing. The father was well known last war by 
the nickname of John Hardapple : he had a privateer 
schooner with a French commission, and did much 
mischief to our trade. He was sent for on purpose 
to command these privateers." 

In this action the Hercules had 13 killed and 20 
wounded ; the Mars 9 killed and 15 wounded ; while 
the Artois had only 1 man killed and 6 wounded. 



FOUL-WEATHER JACK. 

" Reversed (forme) our grandsire's fate of yore; 
He had no rest at sea, nor I on shore." 

Such are the terms in which his noble grandson 
the poet, speaks of his ancestor the Honourable 
John Byron, whose misfortunes in his naval career 
have become quite proverbial, and of whom it is 
said that he never made a voyage without en- 
countering a tempest ; a fact which gained for him 
in the Navy the soubriquet of Foul- weather Jack. 

This officer published an account of the loss of 
the Wager, one of Admiral Anson's squadron in 
his voyage round the world ; and in it he gives an 
amusing anecdote of the terror inspired by the 
English on the west coast of South America. 



296 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

When the shipwrecked party, only three in number, 
enfeebled by privation and disease, had arrived at 
Lima, after almost incredible suffering, they were 
received by the Governor with great kindness, 
while every commiseration was shown them. They 
had not, however, been long in the port before the 
Captain of a large coasting ship, which had recently 
arrived, waited on the Governor, and told him, with 
a most melancholy countenance, that he had not 
slept a wink since he came into the harbour, as the 
Governor was pleased to allow three English pri- 
soners to walk about instead of confining them, and 
that he expected every moment they would board 
his vessel and carry her away : this he said when 
he had above thirty hands aboard. The Governor 
assured him that he would be answerable for the 
prisoners and that he might sleep in quiet, though 
at the same time he could not help laughing at the 
man, as all the people in the town did. These 
assurances, however, did not satisfy the Captain ; he 
used the utmost despatch in disposing of his cargo, 
and put to sea again, not thinking himself safe till 
he had lost sight of the port. Admiral Byron in 
the same narrative gives a pleasing trait of Spanish 
generosity. He and another prisoner had received 
an invitation to dine with the President to meet 
the Spanish Admiral Pizarro and all his officers. 
This was a cruel stroke, as neither of them had 
any clothes to appear in, and yet dared not refuse 
the invitation. While in this dilemma, the first- 
lieutenant of Pizarro's ship, who had some notion 
of the real state of the case, called on them and 



FOUL-WEATHER JACK. 297 

offered his purse, to the extent of 2000 dollars, 
entirely out of compassion for their situation, and 
without any idea of being repaid. The astonished 
Englishmen received his offer with gratitude, and 
accepted 600 dollars, giving him bills on the English 
Consul at Lisbon for that sum, and having decently 
clothed themselves, were able to enjoy the parole 
which had been accorded them. 

Admiral Byron is not the only naval hero of his 
family ; his second son, George Anson Byron, the 
immediate ancestor of the present Peer, like his 
father, embraced the naval profession, and thanks 
to the almost unlimited power which Admirals on 
foreign stations enjoyed less than a century since, 
he was promoted to post rank before his twenty- 
first year, and was placed in command of the Pro- 
serpine, a fine frigate of 28 guns, on the West 
India station. Captain Byron's personal appear- 
ance seems to have been even more juvenile than 
his years, and when his ship was riding at anchor 
in the neutral port of St. Eustatius, with a French 
frigate the Sphynx, the rival Commander, on 
meeting him on shore, expressed some sort of de- 
rision at his boyish-looking antagonist, and inti- 
mated a sort of defiance. Captain Byron, notwith- 
standing his youth, had however all the spirit of 
his family, and immediately put to sea in company 
with the Frenchman. A battle ensued, and the 
British boy proved victorious, and carried the 
French veteran into St. Kitts, having the additional 
satisfaction of restoring the Sphynx to the service 



298 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

from which she had been taken, she having been a 
short time previous captured by the French. 



GLATTON, WITH SIX SHIPS. 

Sir Henry TroUope's action in the Glatton against 
vast numerical odds, may fairly be cited as a fit 
pendant to Captain Luttrel's action in the Me- 
diator. It is one of those instances of British 
courage and resolution that almost reads like 
romance, and takes firm hold of the youthful imagi- 
nation, singled out from the many gallant achieve- 
ments that mark the commencement of the 
Revolutionary war. The Glatton, an East India 
trader purchased by the Government, had been 
armed as an experiment with what was at the time 
a novel gun, the 68-pounder carronade ; an imple- 
ment of warfare not generally admired in the 
naval service, but of which the value was immense 
in the peculiar circumstances under which the 
present action was fought. 

The Glatton was cruizing in July, 1796, on the 
coast of Flanders, when on the afternoon of the 
15th of that month she observed six sail of ships 
under the land, and on closing within signal 
distance, made them out to be an enemy s squadron 
of four frigates, two corvettes, with a brig and 
cutter, hastening to join them from the leeward. 
Nothing daunted at the formidable appearance of 
the enemy, but rather rejoiced at the opportunity 



GLATTON, WITH SIX SHIPS. 299 

of trying the effect of his favourite heavy carronades, 
Captain TroUope ordered the ship to be cleared for 
action, and stood on with a light breeze in his 
favour, while the strangers, confident of success, 
shortened sail, backing their mizen topsails to keep 
their respective stations. The shades of a long 
summer night had fallen, when at 9*45 the Glatton, 
having hoisted her colours, arrived abreast of the 
three smaller and rearmost ships, but reserved her 
fire for the next, which from her superior size 
appeared to be the Commodore. Banging close 
alongside, Captain TroUope hailed the ship and 
desired her Commander to surrender. The only 
answer v\ras the display of French colours and the 
broad pendant of a Commodore, accompanied by a 
general fire from the whole squadron. The Glatton 
was not slow in returning it, and at the distance of 
not more than twenty yards poured in such a broad- 
side as no single- decked ship probably ever before 
delivered. While thus mutually engaged, the efforts 
of the Captain of the French van ship seemed to 
aim, by manoeuvring with the rest of his force, to 
drive the Glatton upon the Brill shoal close to 
leeward. With this object he bore down on the 
Glatton's weather-beam ; but when within hail, 
received a fire from her larboard guns, the effects 
" of which were heard above the roar of the artillery 
in the cries and groans of the wounded, and par- 
tially seen in the shattered state of the ship's side 
The discomfited ship passed on, greeted with three 
British cheers, leaving the Glatton still engaged 



300 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

with the French Commodore upon her lee bow 
and the third frigate upon her lee quarter. Her 
crew being insufficient to man both sides, they were 
divided into two gangs, one of which having loaded 
and run out the guns, left them to be pointed and 
fired by the picked hands, and then ran across and 
did the same to the opposite guns. The action had 
now lasted twenty minutes, when the pilot called 
out that the ship would be on the shoal if she did 
not tack in five minutes. Captain TroUope only 
replied, " When the French Commodore strikes the 
ground, do you put the helm a-lee." Immediately 
after the French Commodore tacked to avoid the 
shoal, the other French ships having previously 
gone about, when the Glatton, delivering a terrific 
raking fire into her, prepared to do the same, and 
succeeded with great difficulty, owing to the 
damaged state of her sails and rigging. The com- 
batants were now all on the starboard tack ; and 
although the three large frigates had fallen to 
leeward, the three smaller ones kept up a harassing 
fire at a respectful distance, to which the Glatton, 
from the nature of her armament, which was 
only effective at close quarters, was unable to 
make an effectual return. At this time the wind 
increasing, rendered it necessary to take in a reef 
in the Glatton's topsails, which the crew hastened 
to perform in the face of a smart cannonade, and 
the nearest French ship, mistaking the cause of the 
cessation of fire, hastened to advance to reap the 
fruits of supposed victory ; but again the gallant 



GLATTON, WITH SIX SHIPS. 301 

crew were at their guns, and a fatal fire convinced 
the Frenchmen of their error, and induced the 
three last ships to follow the example of their more 
powerful companions and beat a retreat. Thus 
far victorious over her six opponents, as well as the 
brig and cutter which had opened their fire at the 
close of the action, and likewise withdrawn after 
receiving a few volleys, the Glatton was in such a 
dismantled state as to render it impossible for her 
to pursue her advantage ; almost every brace and 
stay had been shot away, as well as the running and 
great part of the standing rigging ; all her lower 
sails were cut to ribbons, v/hile the mainmast and 
fore and main yards were almost ready to fall. 
But few shot, however, had struck the hull, and, 
strange to say, no men were killed and two only 
wounded. One of these was Captain H. L. Strange- 
ways, of the Marines, who was badly wounded by a 
musket-ball, and compelled in consequence to have 
the tourniquet applied, but insisted on returning to 
his quarters, and remained on deck until, faint with 
loss of blood, he was carried below and died shortly 
afterwards. 

The best information as to the force of the enemy 
states one of the frigates to have been a 74 cut 
down to 50 guns, the second 38 guns, the third 36, 
one of 28 guns, and two ship corvettes of 22 guns, 
with the brig and cutter ; and the Flushing fisher- 
men reported that so much damage had been 
sustained by them, that one had sunk in the harbour, 
and that they had lost 70 men in killed and 



302 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAKING. 

wounded. Captain Trollope was knighted for this 
engagement, and received a present of plate from 
the merchants of London. 

The King had expressed a desire to make him a 
Knight Banneret, but technicalities interposed, and 
it was decided that that rank could only be con- 
ferred on the actual field of battle ; so that, unless 
our monarchs again buckle on their harness and 
sleep in the tented field, the style and dignity of a 
Knight Banneret may now be looked upon as a 
thing of past ages. 



BOATS OF QUEBEC AND OTHERS, WITH GUN-BOATS, 
OFF HELIGOLAND. 

The island of Heligoland, a sandy dependency 
of the British crown, situated at the mouth of the 
Elbe, was, during the time that Napoleon enforced 
his continental system, and interdicted any com- 
mercial intercourse with England, the entrepot of 
British goods, which were thence smuggled to the 
main land ; and the intermediate waters between 
the island and the coast of Holland swarmed with 
gun- boats, which were supported onshore by strong 
military detachments, to prevent the prohibited 
trade. The efforts of our men-of-war on this sta- 
tion were therefore directed to destroy this force ; 
and on the 3rd of August, 1811, the boats of 
her Majesty's ship Quebec, with others from the 
Eaven, Exertion, Redbreast, Princess Augusta, and 
Alert, under the command of Lieutenant Samuel 



BOATS OF QUEBEC OFF HELIGOLAND. 303 

Blyth, of the Quebec, struck an effective blow. 
This officer, with ten boats, containing 117 officers 
and men, piloted by the mate of the Princess 
Augusta, James Muggridge, left the frigate on the 
1st of August. The day following they fell in with 
six gun-boats, full of troops, and carrying heavy 
metal. Burning to attack them, Mr. Blyth was only 
held back by the utter hopelessness of attacking so 
vastly superior a force with any chance of success 
— but while he took no steps to avoid them, re- 
marking that he would play children's play, and let 
them alone, if they would him, the hostile force 
respected his determined aspect, and stood away, 
without attempting to annoy him. Thus left at 
liberty to proceed on their projected enterprise, the 
boats threaded the intricate navigation, until, on 
the morning of the 3rd, they arrived in sight of the 
enemy's gun-boats, four in number, and moored in 
line in sight of their countrymen on shore. Each 
boat contained twenty seamen, beside soldiers; 
their guns, a long 12-pounder and two of smaller 
calibre in each, were loaded with grape and 
cannister shot, and should the hardy invaders suc- 
ceed in escaping their salute and get alongside, the 
crews were fully prepared to receive them. After 
they arrived in sight, while the men lay on their 
oars during the pause in which the plan of attack 
was decided on, no thought of danger seemed 
to enter their minds, and jokes were passing from 
mouth to mouth. Lieutenant Blyth replying to a 
remark, that it was a hot day and they should have 



304 DEEDS OF KAYAL DARING. 

warm work— by, "Yes, they seem to be waiting for 
us, and, as the witch said when she was going to 
be burnt, there will be no fun until we get there." 
The day was calm, and the water so still that 
had the enemy been skilled in gunnery not a boat 
could have reached them ; as it was, when the 
word to advance was given the rapid strokes of the 
hardy crews brought the boats within and through 
the hostile fire before two volleys had been dis- 
charged ; these, however, occasioned considerable 
damage. Lieutenant Blyth reserved his fire until 
he ran alongside the Commodore's gun-boat. In- 
stantaneously gaining the deck he killed one man 
and wounded two others, while Mr. Muggridge, as he 
boarded, was opposed by two soldiers ; one of these 
he shot dead, but the other thrust him through 
the throat with his bayonet, and forced him back 
into the sea. In very few minutes, however, the 
crew was mastered and driven below, and the 
Commander's sword in Mr. Blyth's hands, who in- 
stantly caused the 12 -pounder to be turned on the 
other three gun-boats, which were so placed that 
they could not fire on him without killing their own 
people. A quantity of cartridges were lying on the 
deck of the captured gun-boat, covered with a sail, 
and with these the victors loaded the heavy cannon, 
but were unable to find a lighted match : in this 
difficulty the gunner of the Quebec discharged the 
gun by flashing his pistol over the touchhole, when 
the fire unfortunately communicating to some loose 
powder on the deck, and thence to the cartridges, 



BOATS OF QUEBEC OFF HELIGOLAND. 305 

caused a terrible explosion, by which nineteen 
persons were killed or wounded. Mr. Blyth was 
blown into the sea, and his clothes burnt off one 
side, and Lieutenant Moore of the Marines was 
dreadfully scorched ; this fatal disaster on the deck 
of the Commodore's gun-boat did not check the 
advance of the other boats, which laid their enemies 
on board, and in ten minutes from the first shot 
the whole squadron was in our hands. There was 
no deficiency of courage on the part of either 
officers or men of the gun-boats ; their want of skill 
only befriended the assailants, for when our sea- 
men gained their decks they appeared confounded 
rather than frightened, and neither struck their 
flag nor asked for quarter ; our gallant tars driving 
them below by the persuasive power of their fists, 
rather than more deadly weapons. The number 
of prisoners exceeded the amount of the whole 
victorious force, the assailants losing in the attack 
four killed and nine wounded, while of those ivho 
suffered from the explosion three died the following 
day. The enemy had two killed and twelve 
wounded. As a proof of the severity of the fire 
through which the boats passed in their onset, it 
maybe stated that fourteen grape shot and twenty- 
two musket balls passed through the barge of the 
Quebec. Having completed this brilliant achieve- 
ment, Lieutenant Blyth returned to Heligoland 
with the captured gun-boats and prisoners, where 
he was received with triumphant acclamations, 
and on the 5th of September following he had the 

X 



306 DEEDS OF KAVAL DARES'G. 

satisfaction of receiving from the Admiralty his 
well-earned promotion to the rank of Commander. 



A PITHY SPEECH, 



At the battle of the Nile, where the hero Nelson 
executed the unexpected manoeuvre of taking his 
fleet between the French ships and the shore, along 
which they lay moored, while the British were 
advancing silently to the attack, the late Sir 
John Boscawen Savage, who died an octogenarian 
General of marines, and who at that time com- 
manded the marines of the Orion, requested per- 
mission from the Captain to address a few words 
to his men. Leave was of course immediately 
granted, when Savage, pointing out the enemy's 
array on the one side, and the low shore of Egypt 
on the other, said — ^^ There, my lads, you see the 
enemy's ships, and there," pointing on the other 
side, '^ is the Land of Egypt ; and, by Jove, if you 
don't fight like devils, and give the Frenchman a 
(J — (J good licking, to-morrow you will find your- 
selves in the House of Bondage." The result of 
that glorious sea fight, in which the Orion took so 
proud a share, shows that the gallant marine's 
address, if requisite, was at all events not thrown 
away. 



EUISTS^ING THE GAUNTLET. 307 



RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. 

The Mill of La Cole, situated on a stream which 
falls into the river St John, between the Isle-aux- 
Noix and lake Champlain, was, during the American 
War, the scene of the following courageous act. 
It was the most advanced post of the British army, 
and garrisoned by detachments from the line and 
the marines, forming in all a party of about 300 
men, and was surrounded by the American army 
of 5000 men, under General Wilkinson. The 
ammunition of the British force was nearly ex- 
pended, and so strictly was the place invested that 
there was no means of communicating their posi- 
tion to head-quarters at Isle aux-Noix. In this 
difficulty private Ambrose Brown of the marines 
volunteered to carry a despatch to the officer in 
command at the above-named island. The river at 
this time was frozen over, and covered with a deep 
coating of snow, but the ice in the centre of the 
stream only was sufficiently strong to allow of per- 
sons traversing it, while both banks were lined mth 
strong and vigilant detachments of the enemy, and 
the distance from one bank to the other was not more 
than a musket shot. The danger of such an enter- 
prise was fully explained, but did not discourage 
the undaunted volunteer, who, taking advantage 
of the darkness of night, started with the despatch, 
for greater security, rolled up in lead, in his mouth. 
The shades of night, however, proved no protection 

x2 



308 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

against the vigilance of the Americans. Brown 
ivas observed almost as soon as he left the post, 
and a heavy fire was opened on him from both 
banks ; but he persisted in the attempt, and although 
he received a musket ball in his hip he made good 
his way with the despatch to Isle-aux-Noix, where 
the necessary steps were taken to relieve the 
garrison, and the important post was thus saved 
from falling into the hands of the enemy. For his 
gallant conduct Brown was made a corporal, and 
would have been made a serjeant had he been able 
to write. He is now an inmate of Greenwich 
Hospital. 



DEATH OF SIR PETER PARKER. 

During the last American war, and while the 
forces imder Admiral Sir George Cockburn and 
General Ross were executing their gallant move- 
ments into the heart of the country, w^hich ended 
in the capture of Washington, the capital of the 
Federal States, Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, 
the Naval Commander-in-Chief, with the view of 
causing a diversion, and calling off the attention 
of the enemy from the main objects of attack, 
directed two expeditions against other points— one 
under the orders of Captain Gordon, of the Sea- 
horse (the present Rear- Admiral Sir J. A. Gordon, 
one of the heroes of Lissa, and the gallant Lieu- 
tenant-Governor of Greenwich Hospital), which 



DEATH OF SIR PETER PARKER. 309 

proceeded up the Potomac, and made a successful 
attack on the town of Alexandria ; and the other 
under Sir Peter Parker, of the Menelaus, against 
Baltimore, with which our present narrative is con- 
nected. Sir Peter, an officer who had, on many 
previous occasions, given proofs of gallantry and 
daring, and whose soul wa-s devoted to his profes- 
sion and his country, while thus employed and 
stationed in the Chesapeake, received information 
from an intelligent black man that a body of militia 
were encamped behind a wood within sight of the 
ship, and distant about half a mile from the beach, 
with the view of surprising any parties that might 
be landed from the Menelaus, of opening their 
artillery against the ship, or of endeavouring, 
under cover of their gun-boats, if they should find 
the British force off their guard, to cross the 
bay to the relief of Baltimore itself. The descrip- 
tion thus obtained of the American position was 
such as to give the gallant Captain the best hopes 
of being able to cut them off. Anxiety to defeat 
their purpose, and, by driving them from a position 
which threatened the safety of his ship, thus 
produce an impression which would be favourable 
to the ulterior operations of the army and fleet, 
determined him, if possible, by a night attack, to 
surprise them and storm their camp. As the 
service was of the most desperate nature, he re- 
solved to lead it himself; and accordingly, on the 
night of the 30th August 1814, at eleven o'clock, 
his preparations being all completed, he landed a 



310 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARHSTG. 



body of seamen, who had been previously well 
trained, in many a similar skirmish under his own 
eye, to the use of small arms, and a party of 
marines, altogether not exceeding 140 men, 
formed into two divisions, headed by two of his 
Lieutenants, Crease and Pearce, and the whole 
commanded by himself. Sir Peter seems to have 
been fully alive to the danger attendant on the 
expedition he had now undertaken. Before leaving 
the ship, he addressed these last few lines to Lady 
Parker :- — 

** Menelaus, August 30, 1814. 

" I am just going on desperate service, and en- 
tirely depend upon valour and example for its suc- 
cessful issue. If anything befals me, I have made 
a sort of will. My country will be good to you 
and our adored children. God Almighty bless and 
protect you all !— Adieu, most beloved Marianne, 
^^^^^ ' " Peter Parker." 

The whole party pushed off from their ship, in 
high spirits ; and having taken the look-out picquet 
of the enemy, and one or two dragoong, imme- 
diately on landing, they advanced in close column 
and in the deepest silence, in the assurance that 
their motions had not been discovered ; but, on 
arriving at the ground, they found that the enemy 
had shifted their position. Following them be- 
tween four and five miles into the country, they at 
length found them drawn up in line on a plain 
surrounded by woods, with their camp in the rear, 



DEATH OF SIR PETER PARKER. 311 

comprising a total force of 500 men, a troop of 
horse, and five pieces of artillery, all perfectly 
ready to receive their foe. 

Not a moment was now to be lost Undismayed 
by this apparently overwhelming superiority of 
force, Sir Peter Parker determined upon an imme- 
diate attack. By a smart fire, and instant charge, 
the enemy was driven from his position, completely 
routed, and compelled to a rapid retreat behind 
his artillery, where he again made a stand ; one of 
his guns was captured, but again abandoned. The 
attack was instantly renewed with the same despe- 
rate gallantry ; and (as Lieutenant Crease, whose 
brave and meritorious conduct was equally con- 
spicuous, states, in his official letter to Sir Alex- 
ander Cochrane, as published in the London Ga- 
zette, on the 27th September 1814) it was at this 
time, ''while animating his men in the most heroic 
manner, that Sir Peter Parker received his mortal 
v/ound, which obliged him to quit the field, and 
he expired in a few minutes." The ball by which 
he fell entered his right thigh, and cut the main 
artery. On receiving his mortal wound he smiled, 
and said, " They have hit me, Pearce, at last ; but 
it is nothing. Push on, my brave fellows, and 
follow me 1 " Cheering his men with undaunted 
heroism of spirit, that even his dying accents may 
be said to have been strains of triumph. The 
latter as enthusiastically returned his cheer. He 
advanced at their head a few paces further, when, 
staggering under the rapid flow of blood from his 



312 DEEDS OF KAVAL DAEING. 



wound, he grew weak, fell into the arms of his 
Second Lieutenant, Mr. Pearce, and, faintly de- 
siring him to sound the bugle, to collect the men, 
and leave him on the field, he finally surrendered, 
without a sigh or a pang, his brave spirit to the 
mercy of Heaven. His men collected around his 
body, and swore never to deliver it up to the 
enemy but with their lives. At this moment some 
gallant fellows bled and died around him. The 
conflict was now, among those intrepid champions 
of their country's cause, who should bear off from 
the enemy the cherished remains of their Captain. 
At the head of these was Lieutenant Pearce, whose 
bravery during the action had so nobly seconded 
Sir Peter Parker, who, aware of the distinguished 
abilities and merit of this excellent and rising 
young officer, had applied to the Admiralty to have 
him appointed to the Menelaus prior to her leaving 
England. On the retreat of the enemy, Lieutenant 
Pearce placed him on the shoulders of his men, 
who, relieving each other by turns, thus bore off ;^ 
to the shore (a distance of five miles) the body of 
their fallen and beloved commander. One of these, 
William Porrell, seaman, evinced on this occasion 
a personal bravery and attachment to his Captain 
that would have done credit to any mind. This ^s 
man was near Sir Peter when he received the fatal u 
wound, and immediately ran to his assistance, and 
supported him in his arms until further help was 
procured. The men who bore him off were changed ': 
occasionally, but Porrell refused to quit the body 



DEATH OF SIR PETER PARKER. 313 

a moment, and, unrelieved, sustained his portion 
of the weight to the shore. "When it was sug- 
gested by some present that the enemy might 
rally, and cut off their retreat, he exclaimed, ''No 
d — d Yankee shall lay a hand on the body of my 
Captain while I have life or strength to defend it/' 
The intrepid spirit and unconquerable mind of an- 
other British sailor, named James Perring, equally 
merits here the meed of admiration. He was not 
above twenty-four years of age. Early in the 
action he had been mortally wounded, under cir- 
cumstances of peculiar suffering, and, calling out 
to his companions to draw aside and advance, he 
swore he would never become the prisoner of a 
Yankee. He subsequently crawled to a tree, 
against which, in great agony, he seated himself, 
with his cutlass in one hand and his pistol in the 
other. At daylight the Americans, finding the 
British had retreated, returned to the field of 
battle for the humane purpose of collecting the 
wounded. They found Perring in this position, 
life ebbing fast away. They summoned him to 
surrender. He answered, no American should ever 
take him alive. They assured him they only came 
to carry him off to the hospital. He still perse- 
vered in refusing to receive succour from them. 
He was told, if he refused giving up his arms 
they must fire on him. Collecting his remaining 
strength, he exclaimed, " Fire away, and be d — d ! 
No Yankee shall ever take me alive ; you will 
only shorten an hour's misery." The Americans 



314 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

respected the heroism of this brave young man, 
and left him unmolested to expire on the field. 



COMUS WITH FREDERICHSW^RN. 

The Comus, whose adventm^e at the Canary 
Islands in 1807 has been narrated in a previous 
anecdote^ having shortly after refitted at Spithead, 
was ordered round to Harwich to receive on board 
Generals Sir David Baird, Grosvenor, and Warde, 
with their respective suites, and to convoy about 
100 transports containing troops and ammunition 
to Copenhagen. In about a week she reached 
Elsineur Roads, where was presented the magni- 
ficent sight of 20 sail of the line, besides frigates 
and sloops, together with upwards of 500 transports, 
containing about 20,000 men, assembled for an 
approaching assault upon the Danish capital. That 
Government, feeling uneasy, began to concentrate 
their land forces, and ordered the frigate lying in 
the Roads, for the purpose of enforcing the Sound 
dues, to put to sea. She accordingly slipped in the 
night and got clear away unnoticed, till Sir Samuel 
Wood, in the Centaur, missed her about ten o'clock 
in the morning, and reported her absence to Ad- 
miral Gambler, on board his flag- ship. The Defence 
of 74 guns being ordered to Norway to look after 
a Danish ship of the line, was directed also to stop 
the frigate, and the Comus was ordered to accom- 
pany her. Captain Ekins, in command of the De- 



COMUS WITH FREDERICHSW^RN. 315 

fence, finding that the Comus greatly outsailed his 
ship, ordered her to proceed, and if she fell in with 
the frigate to stop her. Making all sail she dis- 
tanced the Defence during the night nearly fifteen 
miles. At 6 A.M. the gladsome sound was heard from 
the mast-head of " a sail ho ! '' " Whereabouts ?" 
was responded by the officer of the watch—'' Right 
a-head.^' " What does she look like?"—'' A large 
vessel." The officer instantly slung his telescope 
over his shoulder, mounted aloft, poised and pointed 
it on the fore-topsail yard, and in a few minutes 
descended and reported to the Captain that the 
strange sail was apparently a frigate standing the 
same way as the Comus, and by the colour of her 
canvas a foreisfner. 

The order was promptly given to chace, and in 
a few seconds the shrill whistle was heard, with 
the accompaniment^ of, " All hands make sail, a 
hoy," re-echoed by the boatswain and his mates. 
On the instant the willing seamen sprung aloft, 
and almost like magic every available yard of 
canvas was set, spreading a broad expanse to the 
steady breeze. Nothing could be more satisfactory 
than the rate at which the chace was overhauled. 
At 7 she was seen from the deck, at 8 her lower 
yards were visible, and at 11 her water line was 
seen from the forecastle. Shortly after noon the 
wind subsided entirely, leaving the two ships be- 
calmed at a distance of six miles. They had thus 
each ample leisure to survey their opponent, and 
to compute the probable issue of the approaching 



316 DEEDS OF ^AYAL DARING. 

conflict. The Dane's broadside showed 13 guns, 
besides the bridle port on the main-deck, with 6 on 
the quarter-deck and forecastle, indicating her to 
be what is usually denominated a two-and4hirty ; 
while the British frigate, by the same nomen- 
clature, was styled a four-and-twenty ; divested 
however of such technicality, the Dane carried 
26 long 12-pounders on the main-deck, with 12 on 
the quarter-deck and forecastle, and 240 men ; while 
the armament of the Comus was 22 9-pounders 
on the main deck, and 8 241b.-carronades, and 
145 men, 15 of whom, were mere boys; a far 
greater disproportion than the simple statement 
that one carried 32 and the other 24 guns would 
lead the reader to suppose. The disparity, great as 
it was, served but to increase the measure of general 
satisfaction, which was manifest in the eager look, 
the joyous glance of every individual on board, 
showing that degree of confidence which is at once 
the type and forerunner of success. 

The neutral port of Gottenburg was abreast of 
the chace, and the entrance to the Wingo about 
three leagues distant, and the fear that she might 
show a white feather and run in there for shelter, 
damped their anticipations ; but when at 8 P.M. the 
long-looked- for breeze sprung up, and she was seen 
crowding all sail in order to pass the port, these 
apprehensions subsided, while hope and confidence 
filled every British heart. It was a lovely night, 
the breeze, though brisk, impressed only the gentlest 
ripple on the surface, and after, the heat of a sultry 



COMUS WITH FREDERICHSW^RN. SI 7 

summer's day was most invigorating. It blew off the 
Swedish shore, bearing on its bosom the incense of 
many a grateful odour. As it freshened, the gallant 
little ship, careening under the pressure, moved with 
the elasticity of a thing instinct with life and motion^ 
and as if to add a character at once imposing and 
majestic to these gentler features of the scene, the 
western sky was iUuminated by a continuous blaze 
of broad, soft, yet vivid lightning, which, darting in 
vibratory rays, bore the strongest resemblance to 
the coruscations of the aurora borealis. 

At 10 o'clock the Captain, who was an invalid, 
and naturally nervous, went to bed, giving instruc- 
tions to carry moderate sail, and to be called on 
closing with the chace, which he expected would 
not take place before daylight ; but to accelerate 
and ensure this object, the wind being on the star- 
board beam, Lieutenant Watts shortly after quietly 
directed some additional sail to be set, by which 
the rate of sailing was increased to eight knots, and 
he had the gratification to find that they so de- 
cidedly outstripped the chace, that at ITSO P.M. 
they were within half a mile of her. Seeing the 
hopelessness of escape she had shortened sail, and 
was now standing close-hauled, under top-sails^ 
prepared to receive us. 

Lieutenant Watts now shortened sail and the 
Captain was called. When told they w^ere so near 
he started up in amazement, hastily dressed, and 
ran upon deck. The Comus now ranged up within 
hail on the enemy's weather quarter, the courses 



318 DEEDS OF NAYAL DARING. 

were then hauled up, and every man took his 
station in readiness for action. 

It was exactly midnight, and eight bells struck 
to announce the hour. It broke ominously upon 
the stillness of night, and might not unaptly be 
likened as the knell for those whose hours were 
numbered. Arrived within pistol shot the first 
Lieutenant hailed to know from whence, and what 
the stranger was ? From Elsineur, bound to Nor- 
way, was the reply. She was desired to heave to 
and wait for our Commodore, who was coming up 
astern. " I want to have nothing to do with either 
you or your Commodore," was rejoined. Closing 
a little nearer, the summons was repeated in a 
more decided tone. " This is an English frigate, 
and we desire you will bring to." "^ And this is a 
Danish frigate," was the spirited and laconic reply. 
The wind at this moment scanting on us, we bore 
away to run under his lee-quarter, and fired a 
musket, to which he instantly replied by a shot 
from his stern-chase gun. I'he Frederichswaprn 
was now manoeuvred so as to place her in a position 
in which she might rake and cripple her foe. Had 
the intention been to fight it out, this proceeding 
would have been opposed to every rule of seaman- 
ship, but as a prelude to ensure escape was not 
injudicious, and might have effected that object 
had the guns been well directed. As it was the 
result was most disastrous to her, for her enemy, 
penetrating the intention of the evolution, altered 
his helm just in time to avoid the fire, receiving 



COMUS WITH FREDERICHSW^RIS^ 319 

part only on his bow, while most of it passed 
innocuously a-head. And now the Dane suffered 
for his error, for the Comus was enabled rapidly to 
close under his lee-quarter, at the distance of 20 
yards, and to pour in a broadside from guns double- 
breeched and treble-shotted, every one of which 
told with the most deadly and decisive effect. 
Her wheel and tiller ropes being immediately shot 
away, and the helmsman killed, she flew to the 
wind. At this critical moment, laying the main- 
topsail to the mast, Captain Shipley took an ad- 
mirable position on her lee-bow, y/hich he main- 
tained for 15 minutes, pouring in as many broad- 
sides with comparative impunity ; for to add to the 
embarrassment of his opponent, the men handing 
up powder from the magazine were killed, which 
stopped the supply ; her battle lanterns were nearly- 
all extinguished ; and when an attempt was made 
to haul up the courses, neither clew garnet, bunt- 
line, or slabline, could be found for the purpose, 
every particle of running rigging being cut to 
pieces. Thus dreadfully and cruelly hampered she 
lay in irons for several minutes, but fortune again 
smiled upon her, for she fell round off athwart her 
enemy's stern (the latter having forged a-head), 
and thereby obtained a marked advantage, being 
placed in a position to rake, which, had it been 
improved on the instant, might have restored her 
lost vantage ground. But her fire, which through- 
out the contest had been ineffectual, and even 
feeble, compared with her antagonist, was delayed 



320 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

till this advantage of position was lost, and it was 
not again regained. The evolutions which have 
been described had had the effect of altering the 
relative position of the two ships, and the Comus 
now found herself on the Dane's weather-bow. 
Her men flew from the starboard to the larboard 
guns, and opened so animated and destructive a 
fire that nothing could withstand it. The Dane's 
after guns did not bear on her, and her foremost 
ones, from the concentrated fire maintained on 
them, were apparently deserted, for not a shot 
latterly was returned. The breeze now became 
so lulled by the cannonade that neither ship had 
steerage way. Forty-five minutes had elapsed from 
the commencement of the action when they fell 
on board of each other, the larboard quarter of 
the Comus in contact with the Dane's starboard 
bow. The superiority the Comus 'had hitherto 
maintained by the precision and rapidity of her 
fire was now at an end, and the enemy's excess in 
point of number might yet gain him the ascend- 
ancy, and be decisive of the battle. This impres- 
sion, as the ships gradually approached, was con- 
firmed in the mind of the English officers when 
they saw the Danish Captain, with a spirit worthy 
of better fortune, profiting by the occasion, to 
assemble the whole of his effective force in order to 
board them, and just when they came in contact, dis- 
tinctly heard the order given, which was to impel the 
enemy to the assault. Not an instant was therefore 
to be lost, Lieutenant Watts gave the order, which 



COMUS WITH FREDEEICHSWJ^RX. 821 

rapidly passed fore and aft — ^' Boarders on the lar- 
board qu.arter," when instantly came dashing on- 
wards a gallant little band of determined and 
ardent spirits to repel it. The adversary's cat- 
head touching their quarter formed a causeway of 
about ten inches wide, by crossing which either 
party could assail the other ; when therefore the 
enemy, rushing forward with great apparent de- 
termination, was met at this narrow pass by a 
phalanx of pikes, supported by a fire from the two 
after guns, he first hesitated and then receded. 
" Three cheers, my lads, and carry her,'' shouted 
the first Lieutenant, and instantly burst forth that 
animated British peal which has so often been the 
harbin2:er of terror and defeat to the boldest of 
England's foes. Suiting the action to the word, 
Lieutenant Watts, leading the way, sprung across 
the narrow bridge, followed by the first division of 
boarders, and vaulting on the forecastle, forced the 
Danes headforemost into the waist, and leaping 
upon them sword in hand, they were driven im- 
petuously along the starboard gangway in spite of 
all the efforts of their officers to rally them, while 
Lieutenant Hood Knight, at the head of his divi- 
sion, swept simultaneously the larboard gangway, 
and both divisions uniting on the quarter-deck, 
the enemy, pent up and panic-struck, called out 
they had surrendered, and threw down their arms. 
Thus fell the Danish frigate Frederichswaern, 
affording one more instance to the many of the 
superiority of practice and discipline over size and 

Y 



322 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAE^G, 

numbers. In justice to a brave opponent it must 
not be concealed that the loss of the wheel at the 
commencement of the action was mainly decisive 
of the final issue, being a casualty of so serious a 
nature, as no skill in seamanship or perfection in 
discipline could compensate for. But while candour 
compels this avowal, truth equally demands a 
merited eulogium upon the perfection of our ar- 
tillery, which was so admirably served and so well 
directed, as to ensure victory under almost any 
circumstances. The Danish Captain declared he 
did not believe in the possibility of so rapid a 
fire ; and its precision was shown by not a grape 
shot even being found half-courses high. It was 
long afterwards related in the Baltic Fleet as an 
amusing anecdote — the aggrieved air and simple 
manner with which the Danish Captain related 
how unfairly he had been treated ; " for the English 
frigate, by firing five guns for his one, gave him no 
possible chance of success." The damage sustained 
by the Comus was trifling, and she had but one 
man wounded ; while the Dane had 13 killed and 
20 wounded— most of them mortally— and the 
hull, spars, boats, masts and rigging, were com- 
pletely cut up and riddled. Lieutenant Watts con- 
ducted the prize back in triumph to Copenhagen, 
which was then in flames from the bombardment 
commenced by our fleet, and was honoured by a 
magnificent salutation in passing the batteries of 
Kronberg Castle. 



DEATH OF LIEUTENANT HAWKEY. 323 

DEATH OF LIEUTENANT HAWKEY. 

The years 1808 and 1809, in our list of Medal 
Actions, appear to bear away the palm in the num- 
bers at least, if not in the importance of the achieve- 
ments, for which that distinction has been awarded, 
over other years during the long continuance of the 
war ; and the Baltic fleet seems to have been pre- 
eminently fortunate, as nearly one-third of the 
actions in those years, thus honoured, were fought 
by the ships stationed in those seas. Amongst 
others of perhaps equal note, the capture by the 
British ships Centaur and Implacable of the Russian 
ship of the line Sewolod, in the teeth of, and under 
the fire of a Russian fleet of twelve sail of the line, 
besides frigates, deserves admiration for the skill as 
well as the daring displayed ; for although the two 
Enghsh ships were united to a Swedish squadron, 
they only received moral support from their allies, — 
the Swedes, owing to the bad sailing of their ships, 
not being able to take a share in that action. But 
the particulars of a subsequent affair, in which the 
boats of the same Implacable, then as before com- 
manded by the present A.dmiral of the Fleet, Sir 
T. B. Martin, in company with those of the Belle- 
rophon, Melpomene, and Prometheus, captured a 
Russian flotilla, are more likely to be interesting to 
the general reader. 

On the 6th July 1809, the Implacable had cap- 
tured in the Gulf of Narva some merchant vessels, 
laden with naval stores, under the protection of an 

y2 



324^ DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEHsTG. 

armed ship and gun-boats. These last, together 
with such of the convoy as escaped, retreated on 
the approach of the British ships, and took up a 
defiant position of great strength off Percola Point. 
Such an attitude on the part of their enemy could 
not be borne by English seamen, and Captain 
Martin, considering that something was necessary 
to be done in order to impress these people with 
that sense of respect and fear which His Majesty's 
other enemies are accustomed to show to the British 
flag, determined to send all his boats to a^ttack 
them, and selected for the command Lieutenant 
Hawkey, a young officer of great talent and bravery. 
The boats of the other ships having previously 
assembled round the Implacable, they all pushed 
off after nightfall and proceeded with " an irre- 
sistible zeal and intrepidity towards the enemy (who 
had the advantage of local knowledge), to attack 
a position of extraordinary strength, within two 
rocks, serving as a cover to their wings, whence 
they could pour a destructive fire of grape on our 
boats, which notwithstanding advanced with perfect 
coolness and never fired a gun till actually touching 
the enemy, whom they boarded sword in hand, and 
carried all before them." ''I believe" (Captain 
Martin proceeds to say in his public letter), " a more 
brilliant achievement does not grace the records of 
our naval history : of eight gun-boats, each mount- 
ing a 32 and 24-pounder, and carrying 46 men, 
six have been brought out, together with the whole 
of the ships and vessels, twelve in number, under 



DEATH OF LIEUTENANT HAWKEY. 325 

their protection — laden with powder and provisions 
for the Russian army — a large armed ship taken 
and burnt, and one gun-boat sunk." The gallant 
leader of the enterprise, young Hay/key, fell in the 
performance of the service by a grape-shot, which 
struck him after he had boarded and taken one 
gun-boat, and when he was in the act of attacking 
a second. " Huzza, push on, England for ever 1" 
were the last words that proceeded from his lips ; 
his country's glory being thus uppermost in his 
thoughts. Captain Martin speaks with deep feeling 
of his untimely fate in his official letter: — "No 
praise from my pen," he says, " can do adequate 
justice to this lamented young man. As an officer 
he was a^ctive, correct, and zealous to the highest 
degTee ; the leader in every kind of enterprise, and 
regardless of danger, he delighted in whatever 
could tend to promote the glory of his country." 
The command of the boats, after his death, devolved 
upon Lieutenant Allen, of the Bellerophon, who 
brought the service to its successful conclusion, and 
received the promotion for which Hawkey had 
fought and died. Lieutenant Stirling, of the Pro- 
metheus, was also mortally wounded, and the total 
British loss amounted to 17 killed and 37 wounded, 
while the Russians, in addition to the large number 
who were drowned, lost 63 killed and 127 prisoners, 
of whom 51 were wounded. 



326 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEESTG. 

MEDIATOR, WITH FIVE SHIPS. 

That no odds of numbers daunted our seamen 
of the old school, is proved by the attack made by 
Captain Luttrell, in the Mediator, upon five of the 
enemy's ships on the 12th December 1783. At 
daybreak he had discovered five strange sail, and 
having the advantage of the wind, forthwith pro- 
ceeded to ascertain their character and nationality. 
In a short time the pennants flying and the display 
of French and American colours, warned Captain 
Luttrell that his was an armed foe, and the fact of 
their shortening sail to await his approach showed 
that they did not wish to avoid the threatened 
hostilities of their single antagonist. The squadron 
he had thus to decide on attacking consisted appa- 
rently of a French ship of 64 guns and two frigates, 
in company with an American frigate and brig. 
Such a force it was the height of rashness to attack ; 
but fortune favours the bold^ and Captain Luttrell, 
trusting to the well-tested sailing qualities of the 
Mediator to get him out of a scrape, determined 
to try and throw the enemy's squadron into confu- 
sion, and if the result of a few broadsides gave no 
promise of eventual success, to take to his heels 
and escape. Having taken in, therefore, all sail 
that might be in the way of quick manoeuvres, 
Captain Luttrell continued to bear down, and at ten 
o'clock a few shot from the upper deck of the sup- 
posed 64 afibrded him the gratifying conviction 
that although her lower -deck ports were complete, 



MEDIATOR, WITH FIVE SHIPS. 327 

no guns were mounted in them. Inspirited by this 
discovery, he now manoeuvred more boldly, and 
succeeded in cutting off one of the French frigates 
and the American brig, both of which went off under 
a press of sail, while his first antagonist and the 
French and American frigates still kept together 
for mutual support. He next succeeded in cutting 
off the American frigate from her consorts, and that 
vessel, after receiving a single broadside at close 
quarters, hauled down her colours in token of sur- 
render, while the two French ships, after continuing 
their fire for a short time, crowded all sail and went 
away before the wind. The prize, which proved to 
be the Alexander of 24 guns, was quickly taken 
possession of, and 100 prisoners having been trans- 
ferred to the Mediator, Captain Luttrell proceeded 
in chace of the two Frenchmen. Five hours of 
exciting pursuit again brought him Avithin shot of 
the apparent 64, now unsupported, for the frigate 
had gone off in another direction. Fearful of a 
lucky shot from the chace disabling his masts. 
Captain Luttrell commenced and maintained a 
distant and ineffective fire, with the object of 
covering his ship with smoke, and while thus em- 
ployed a heavy squall caught the Mediator at a 
moment when three of her lower-deck guns were 
run out; the water was instantly knee-deep upon 
the deck, but the ship was put before the wind, and 
having been cleared by the energy of the crew, very 
shortly regained her lost distance. It was dark 
before the action commenced ; a few miles more 



328 DEEDS OF NxiVAL DAEING. 

and the French ship would have been safe. Ferroi 
was under her lee only five miles off; but at nine 
o'clock the Mediator had ranged up within pistol- 
shot, on her quarter, prepared to pour in a broadside 
of round and grape, when the Menagere, a two- 
decked ship, ^' armee en flute," "^ carrying 30 guns 
and 212 men, hauled down her colours and hailed 
that she had surrendered. Orders were instantly 
given to cease all firing, and 200 prisoners having 
been removed from the prize, every effort was made 
to remove both ships from the dangerous propin- 
quity of the hostile port. During the night they were 
joined by the Alexander, and at break of day they 
again descried the frigate and brig that had first 
escaped, — the former with her main topmast and 
the latter with only part of her lower mast standing. 
With only 190 of his original crew left on board 
(the remainder being in the prizes) to work the ship 
and guard 340 prisoners,! Captain Luttrell, with 
some reluctance, resolved to forego any attempt on 
them, and made sail with his two captured ships for 
Plymouth. On their voyage a plot, which had been 
laid by Captain Stephen Gregory, an Irishman by 
birth, and who had commanded the Alexander, was 
discovered and defeated by the indefatigable vigi- 
lance of the officer of Marines. Gregory had 
arranged for a general rising of the prisoners, the 

* A technical phrase, to express that a ship's guns have been landed, 
to convert her into a transport or store-ship. 

f She had made several prizes before the commencement of this 
engagement, from which some of the prisoners must have been taken. 



MEDIATOR, WITPI FIVE SHIPS. 329 

signal for which was to have been the discharge of 
one of the 18-pounders in the gun-room, where he 
was berthed and messed with the lieutenants, and 
the conspirators had hoped that in the hurry and 
confusion arising from the unexpected explosion, 
they might be able to gain possession of the deck ; 

but the sentries w^ere so well disposed and the 

i. 

hatchways so completely guarded, that when the 
signal was given not a man was able to g?in the 
deck. The cries of fire having aroused all hands. 
Captain Luttrell, who states that he vvas alarmed 
by the sudden and terrible explosion, proceeded to 
the gun-room, which he found on fire, with every- 
thing shattered that had been near the gun. 
Gregory, with an accomplice, was found dressed, 
though he had previously pretended to go to bed, 
and in his cot was found some of the powder which 
he had provided to prime the gun ; in short, every 
proof necessary to convict him. Hitherto he had 
been treated v/ith every consideration ; but now he 
and all the officers of the Alexander who w^ere sus- 
pected of having had a share in the plot, were placed 
in irons, while the French officers, who had no 
complicity in it, continued at the captain's table 
on their parole, and the Mediator arrived in a few 
days with both her prizes at Plymouth. 

In this extraordinary action, in w^hich the Me- 
diator, a 44-gun ship, was opposed by the enemy's 
united force of 132 guns and 634 men, she escaped 
without loss of life or limb to her crew ; the French 
fire having been entirely directed at her rigging, in 



330 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARmG. 

which she suffered a good deal. The enemy's loss 
gave no token of a spirited resistance ; for four 
killed and six wounded on board the Menagere, and 
six and nine on board the Alexander, make up the 
small total of loss in their squadron. 



FLAMBOROUGH AND BIDEFOKD, WITH MALICIEUSE 
AND L'OMPHALE. 

In the month of April 1760, two ships of 20 guns 
each, one the Flamborough, commanded by Captain 
Archibald Kennedy, and the other the Bideford, 
by Captain Skinner, wore cruising off the Rock of 
Lisbon, when they observed four ships, of an appa- 
rently hostile character, running before the wind, 
they themselves being well to leeward. Careless 
of the disparity in numbers, Captain Kennedy im- 
mediately stood towards them ; and as the strangers 
did not alter their course, the Flamborough, about 
four o'clock in the afternoon, got within distant 
gun-shot range. The British colours were now 
displayed, and several shot fired to challenge an 
action which it was in the stranger's power to com- 
mence ; but she waited until her three consorts 
had joined her, and then, having by signal directed 
two of the ships to make their way, she hoisted 
French colours, and, supported by one of her con- 
sorts, bore down upon the Flamborough- It was 
now the turn of the English captain to display 
some discretion, as he was three miles to windward 



FLAMBOROUGH AND BTDEFORD. 331 

of the Bideford, with two heavy frigates bearing 
down on him ; and he consequently edged away to 
join her, making signals of the discovery of an enemy, 
and at six o'clock had effected a junction, when the 
French ships no longer seemed desirous of action, 
but hauled their wind, and stood away. The supe- 
rior force of the French frigates (which subse- 
quently proved to be la Malicieuse of 36 guns, 
and rOmphale of 32 guns) was very apparent to 
the crews of the British ships ; and although the 
other two hostile ships were still in view when they 
formed in line to receive their two opponents, en- 
couraging each other with three hearty cheers, 
they had firmly waited the attack ; and now that 
they saw them shrinking from it, their zeal was 
equally great to become the assailing party. The 
Flamborough, being the better sailer, first came 
up with the sternmost ship, and, exchanging a 
passing broadside, left her to the Bideford, while 
she passed on in pursuit of the headmost. At half- 
past six o'clock, in a dusky twilight, she came up 
with her, and commenced the action as near as it 
was possible without the two ships being actually 
on board each other, and continued it until nine. 
By this time the Flamborough's masts, rigging, 
and sails were so much shattered that there was 
not a rope left to govern the sails, whilst her hull 
had also received several shot betwixt wind and 
water. The firing now ceased on both sides, and 
the British crew worked with such energy, that in 
half an hour the Flamborough's damages were in 



332 DEEDS OF NAYAL DARING. 

a measure made good, and she was once more 
ready for action, which she renev/ed and main- 
tained until eleven o'clock at night, when the 
enemy, making all the sail they could carry, suc- 
ceeded in their efforts to escape, although chased 
most perseveringiy by Captain Kennedy until 
noon of the following day. 

While the Flamborough had been thus engaged 
with the headmost ship, the Bideford had not been 
idle ; at a quarter before seven o'clock she had 
succeeded in closing with her antagonist, when the 
battle commenced with greatfury and determination 
on both sides. Early in the action Captain Skinner 
was unfortunately killed by a cannon-shot, but 
Lieutenant Knollis, upon whom the command de- 
volved, fought the ship with the greatest presence 
of mind and steadiness, until eight o'clock, when 
he also fell, and, receiving a second shot in his 
body immediately after, was carried below in a 
dying state. In addition to the loss of two com- 
manding officers, the Bideford was considerably 
damaged in her spars and rigging, while several 
men had been killed and many wounded ; but 
the people were in good spirits, and the guns well 
served, although the enemy's fire was found to be 
excessively hot. Mr. State, the Master, was now 
senior officer, and under his orders the engagement 
was continued with great obstinacy, each ship 
striving hard for the victory. The English were 
now more cool and steady than at the commence- 
ment ; a principle of duty had taken the place of 



FLAMBOROUGH AND BIDEFORD. 333 

rage, and they fought, if possible, better than 
before, "one post vying with another, gun with 
gun and platoon with platoon, who should send 
the greatest and surest destruction to their foe/*' 
Such was the spirit that animated all hands, that 
the wounded men hurried the exertions of the sur- 
geons, and returned with alacrity to their quarters 
as soon as their wounds were dressed. About ten 
o'clock the Frenchman's fire slackened, one gun 
after another becoming silent, until at length hardly 
any return was made to the Bidefords fire. Intent 
upon capture, Mr, State, who thought the enemy 
was going to strike, still continued his broadsides, 
to which only four guns were returned in the last 
quarter of an hour ; but the Frenchman was other- 
wise employed : unobserved, in the obscurity 
of night, all his exertions were directed to 
making good the damages to his rigging, while he 
patiently received his enemy's fire ; and when at 
length he was able to make a press of sail, the 
Bideford, shattered and disabled, was unable to 
follow, and had only the poor satisfaction of pour- 
ing a parting broadside into her flying foe, who 
was almost immediately out of sight. In this 
glorious double contest against such superior forces, 
five officers and men were killed on board the 
Flamborough, and ten wounded ; and on board the 
Bideford ten were killed and twenty- five wounded ; 
but owing to it, a valuable outward-bound fleet, 
convoyed by a single sloop of w^ar, and which was 
near enough to hear the firing, escaped capture and 
destruction. 



334 DEEDS OF KAVAL DARING. 



THE SAILOR'S BIBLE. 

Amongst the oflficial documents to which refer- 
ence has been made in compiling this volume, I 
met with the following transcript from the fly-leaf 
of a brave officer's Bible, which tells a simple tale 
of the dangers of a seaman's life, and the source of 
his confidence in the hour of his greatest trial, 
whether battling with the elements or his country's 
foe. It is as follows : — 

^' This Bible was presented to me by Mr. Raikes, 
at the town of Hertford, January 1781, as a reward 
for my punctual attendance at the Sunday School, 
and good behaviour when there. And after being 
my companion 53 years, 41 of which I spent in 
the sea-service, during which time I was in 45 
engagements, received 13 wounds, was three times 
shipwrecked, once burned out, twice capsized in a 
boat, and had fevers of different sorts 15 times, 
this Bible was my consolation ; and was newly 
bound for me by James Bishop, of Edinburgh, on 
the 26th of October 1834, the day I completed 
the 60th year of my age, as witness my hand. 

" N.B. During the whole time but one leaf is 
lost : the last of Ezra and beginning of Nehemiah. 
I gave it to my son on the 1st January 1841, aged 
five years, after it being in my possession 60 years, 
and he being enabled by the grace of God to read 
it at that age. And may the Lord bless it to him, 
and make him wise unto salvation." 



SOUTHAMPTON AND UTILE. 335 

SOUTHAMPTON AND UTILE. 

On the evening of the 9th of July 1796, when 
the English fleet, under Sir John Jervis, was 
blockading Toulon, a French cruiser, subsequently 
ascertained to be FUtile, was discovered creeping 
along the land under the protection of the shore 
batteries, and working into Hieres Bay, within the 
islands that cluster about the entrance. The 
Admiral immediately singled out the South- 
ampton, with the dashing character of whose 
Captain, M'Namara, he was well acquainted, and 
summoned him on board the Victory. Unwilling 
to give a written order to Captain M'Namara to 
undertake so desperate an enterprise, he pointed 
out the Utile, and the possibility of making a dash 
at her through the Grand Pass, saying, " Bring 
out the enemy's ship if you can, but take care of 
the King's ship under your command." No further 
instructions were necessary to this officer. As the 
light failed, the Southampton got under way, and 
went in, in view of the whole British fleet, who, 
soon losing sight of her in the shades of night, 
waited in anxious suspense for the result of an 
enterprise in which nothing but complete success 
could justify the boldness of the undertaking. It 
was, however, executed in a masterly manner, and, 
as Sir J. Jervis expresses it, with admirable skill 
and alacrity ; and at daylight, after hearing the 
roar of the batteries during the night, the officers 
and men of the fleet had the pleasure of seeing the 



336 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

Southampton return with her prize. Captain 
M'Namara's public letter to the Admiral will give 
a good idea of the formidable nature of the achieve- 
ment, and will do more justice to the merits of all 
engaged than any account of mine : — 

'^ Sir, " Southampton, off Toulon, 10th July 1796. 

" In obedience to the orders I received from 
you on board the Victory's quarter-deck, last even- 
ing, I pushed through the Grand Pass, and hauled 
up under the batteries on the N.E. of Porquerol, 
with an easy sail, in hopes I should be taken for a 
French or neutral frigate, which, I have great 
reason to believe, succeeded, as I got within pistol- 
shot of the enemy's ship before I was discovered, 
and cautioned the captain, through a trumpet, not 
to make a fruitless resistance ; when he imme- 
diately snapped his pistol at me, and fired his 
broadside. At this period, being very near the 
heavy battery of Fort Breganson, I laid him in- 
stantly on board ; and Lieutenant Lydiard, at the 
head of the boarders, with an intrepidity no words 
can describe, entered and carried her in about ten 
minutes, although he met with a spirited resistance 
from the captain (who fell) and an hundred men 
under arms, to receive him. In this short conflict 
the behaviour of all the officers and ship s company 
of the Southampton had my full approbation, and 
I do not mean to take from their merit by stating 
to you that the conduct of Lieutenant Lydiard was 
above all praise. After lashing the two ships to- 



SOUTHAMPTON AM) UTILE. 337 

gether, I found some difficulty in getting from 
under the battery, which kept up a very heavy 
fire, and was not able to return through the Grand 
Pass before half after one o'clock this morning, 
with r Utile, corvette of 24 guns, French six- 
pounders, commanded by Captain Francois Vega, 
and 130 men, 25 of whom were killed and wounded. 

(Signed) "J. M^Namara." 

The difficulty alluded to above in getting from 
imder the battery was caused by the Utile being 
secured to the shore by a hawser, which could not 
be seen owing to the darkness of the night. Lieu- 
tenant Lydiard, suspecting the reason, passed along 
from the bow to the stern, and at length felt the 
obstruction, and, by repeated blows of his sword, 
severed the hawser, and liberated the ship from 
the tie which had been thus contrived. Lieutenant 
Lydiard was promoted for this service, and soon 
had other opportunities of displaying similar gal- 
lantry. He is one of those, at that time in com- 
mand of the Anson, who received a gold medal for 
the capture of the Island of Cura^oa, when, in 
company with the Arethusa, Latona, and Fisgard, 
on New- Year's Day 1807, by a coup de main, they 
overcame the amazing strength of the fortifications 
of that harbour, of which the entrance is only fifty 
yards wide, and is fortified by a chain of forts and 
batteries — Fort Amsterdam alone mounting 66 
pieces of cannon, and Fort Republique, which en- 
filaded the whole, being considered impregnable. 



338 DEEDS OF KAYAL DARING. 



while two frigates and two large schooners of war 
lay at the entrance. Making their attack at 
dawn of day, the enemy were panic-stricken, and 
all was confusion ; the ships of war were almost 
immediately carried by boarding, and by seven 
o'clock the forts, citadel, and town were in the 
possession of the English ; the Dutch losing 200 
men killed, with a loss of 3 seamen killed and 14 
wounded. Captain Lydiard did not long survive 
this noble exploit ; for, on the 27th December fol- 
lowing, the Anson was wrecked on the coast of 
Cornwall, and this brave officer, who was resolved 
to stay by the ship as long as possible, in order to 
save the lives of his ship's company, remained at 
the wheel so long, exposed to the violence of the 
sea, that when at the last he proceeded to make an 
attempt to leave the ship himself, his strength was 
completely exhausted, and he was washed away 
and drowned. 



CAPTURE OF AMOY. 



After an interval of nearly one hundred years, 
the waters of the Eastern hemisphere again wit- 
nessed an action of a character similar to Stratton's 
extraordinary single-handed capture of a fort on 
the Hooghley (see 1st series, page 36), in the cap- 
ture of a Chinese fort at Amoy by Lieut, (now 
Commander) K. B. Crawford. The latter action, 
however, has the additional glory of having been 
the premeditated achievement of a daring man, 
while the former was a freak of fortune wrought at 



CAPTURE OF AMOY. 339 



the hands of a drunken sailor. On the 26th of 
August 1841, as the English fleet was standing into 
attack the city of Amoy, they were much annoyed 
by a battery of eleven guns, which^ placed on a 
commanding eminence, continued to fire upon 
them as they passed up to the anchorage. When 
the Phlegethon, one of the steam-vessels of the 
expeditionary force, and which had the 49th regi- 
ment on board, was closing with this fort and the 
shore, Lieut. Crawford, a volunteer on board, 
thinking that his approach would not be observed 
by the enemy until he came into collision with 
them, expressed a wish to Captain M'Cleverty to 
be allowed to make a dash at the fort and attempt 
to carry it by surprise. Captain M^Cleverty, not 
thinking it right to risk his men's lives on so 
hazardous an undertaking, did not at first accede 
to this request ; and the young officers of the 49th, 
who were standing on the bridge between the 
paddle-boxes, observed " that it was well enough 
to talk about such an exploit," but thought Lieut. 
Crawford could have no intention of really attempt- 
ing it. Captain M^Cleverty, perhaps a little piqued 
for the honour of his cloth, replied that they were 
mistaken, adding, ''' Craw^ford means all he says." 
At the same time he decided on despatching Mr. 
Ryves, the first lieutenant, in the gig with six 
picked hands, and permitted Mr. Crawford, as the 
originator of the plan, to ask for four volunteers for 
the jolly-boat. These soon came forward, and on 
the principle that one volunteer is better than two 

z 2 



840 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

pressed men, the crew of the jolly-boat, incited by 
their officer " to give way and beat the gig," soon 
passed the latter, and in a few minutes were on the 
beach. Nothing now remained for him but to set 
an example, and Lieut. Crawford, without waiting 
to see whether he was supported, scrambled up the 
hill, a sharp acclivity of about 150 yards, and entered: 
a postern-gate, which he found open. His first glance 
showed him a party of forty or fifty Chinese, some 
lolling about and smoking, whilst others worked 
their guns. Aseverything depended on instant action 
and creating a sensation, he discharged his double- 
barrelled fowling-piece amongst them, and then a 
brace of pistols right and left, when the Celestials, 
without waiting to look at their single barbarian as- 
sailant, scampered off in such hot haste as to jam 
themselves up in the doorway opposite to that at 
which he had entered, and which Lieut. Eyves and 
his party of six were approaching, when the ap- 
pearance of the Tartar troops rushing down, ap- 
parently on them, from the fort with matchlocks 
on their shoulders and pikes trailing, checked their 
advance. Lieut. Crawford had the pleasure, there- 
fore, of hoisting the British colours unaided, which 
were saluted with cheers from the Nemesis, then 
passing with Sir Hugh Gough on board. In about 
twenty minutes he was joined by Mr. Ryves in 
resisting an attempt made by the Chinese to retake 
the fort, in which skirmish that officer was wounded ; 
but a party of the 49th coming to their assistance, 
they were able to maintain their position, and the 



THE BOLD RE-CAPTURE. 341 

battery of eleven guns, with the imperial flag of 
China, remained in the hands of the English. 



THE BOLD RE- CAPTURE. 

In the summer of 1810, Admiral Sir J. Borlase 
Warren, Commander-in-Chief at Halifax, received a 
letter from the United States, containing an account 
of the piratical seizure of a schooner belonging to 
Halifax, named the Three Sisters, by a man named 
Jordan, who had taken a passage in her from 
Canada, and who it appeared, with the connivance 
of the mate, had murdered all on board, except 
the master, who, having been chased round the decks 
by Jordan, had thrown a grating into the sea, and 
springing overboard clung to it, hoping thereby to 
save his life. While he was struggling in the 
water, Jordan fired at and missed him ; but the 
vessel, in the confusion, running before the wind, 
the unfortunate man was left on the grating some 
leagues from land, and without any sail in sight ; 
his would-be murderers concluding that he must 
inevitably perish. It was, however, ordered other- 
wise ; for after floating more than three hours in 
this perilous situation, he was providentially picked 
up by an American vessel bound to Portland, U.S., 
and information of the outrage was as soon as pos- 
sible communicated to the Admiral, who despatched 
the Cuttle schooner in search of the Three Sisters. 
Her Commander, Lieut. Bury, proceeded to St. 



342 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

Jolin's, Newfoundland, and wliile there an Irish re- 
sident informed Mr. (now Captain) Simpson, then 
mate of the Cuttle, that a nephew of his with several 
other young men, equally unconscious of the lawless 
character of her commander, had entered on board 
the Three Sisters, which was at that very time in 
a neighbouring bay. Mr. Simpson immediately 
communicated this intelligence to his commanding 
officer, and the same evening the Cuttle proceeded 
to sea in search of the murderers, and at daylight 
the following morning they observed a schooner 
some miles to windward, which they were convinced 
was the object of their pursuit. There was at this 
time a dead calm, and Lieut. Bury, at Mr. Simp- 
son's earnest request, despatched him in the jolly- 
boat with four hands to examine the stranger, but 
with the strictest injunctions to act with the greatest 
caution in approaching her. After a fatiguing pull, 
as the boat closed with the schooner, Mr. Simpson 
counted eighteen hands on board, but, notwith- 
standing these numbers, and the certainty that he 
could receive no assistance from the Cuttle, then 
at a great distance, he boldly resolved on boarding 
to ascertain if his suspicions as to the vessel's 
identity were correct, and if so, when on board, to 
attempt her capture. Ordering his boat's crew to 
make her fast and follow him the moment they 
were alongside, he was quickly in the gangway, 
well and promptly supported by them. Here he 
was met by a man who asked him his business 
there, to which Mr. Simpson replied, by way of 



THE BOLD RE-CAPTURE. 343 

removing any suspicions as to the real nature of 
them, said, " that he belonged to the man-of-war 
schooner in sight, and that he should overhaul the 
vessel strictly, as he could not but think from the 
number of hands on board that she must be a 
smuggler." The man then said that she was a 
smuggler, and that he would give her up. Mr. 
Simpson asked who he was that could give him the 
vessel ? He replied his name was Jordan ; upon 
which, without more ado, Mr. Simpson drew his 
sword and seized him. Jordan levelled a pistol at 
the officer, who struck it down with his sword, and 
two of the boat's crew coming up, secured him. 
A few words addressed to the schooner's crew told 
them that Jordan was a murderer and pirate, and 
the assurance that their own lives were safe re- 
moved any idea of resistance on their part. The 
young officer's daring and coolness thus obtained a 
bloodless victory. Jordan, and Kelly, the mate, 
were secured with ropes, and the breeze springing 
up the captured crew were speedily transferred to 
the Cuttle. Jordan was tried and executed for the 
crime, but Kelly escaped through a flaw in the 
indictment. It transpired during the trial that it 
had been Jordan's intention to seize the first valu- 
able vessel he might meet, and after disposing of 
her crew in his summary manner, carry her into 
an American port and dispose of her cargo, alleging 
some accident as the cause of his putting in. The 
miraculous preservation of the captain of the Three 
Sisters, and Mr. Simpson's activity and courage, 



344 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEING. 

shortened his career of crime, into which he as- 
serted he had been driven in consequence of the 
Three Sisters, which had once been his own pro- 
perty, having been seized for debt, and the desire 
he entertained to be revenged upon those who had 
thus ruined him. 



DEFENCE OF THE ALEXANDER. 

The defence of the Alexander by Admiral Bligh 
is one of that class of actions evidencing obstinate 
and enduring courage, and which has only been 
surpassed in naval warfare by Sir Richard Gren- 
ville's extraordinary single-handed resistance to the 
whole Spanish fleet, and perhaps by the Earl of 
Sandwich in Solebay fight. In the latter part of 
the year 1794, when the above-named ship and the 
Canada, of the same force, viz. 74 guns, were es- 
corting a convoy to England, they fell in, on the 
6th November, off St. Vincent, with a French 
squadron, consisting of five sail of the line, three 
frigates, and a brig, under the command of Admiral 
Neuilly. The hostile squadron was first discovered 
at three o'clock A.M. About four the Alexander 
and Canada passed the strange ships, at the dis- 
tance of about half a mile, and although they were 
still unable to ascertain their character and nation- 
ality with any certainty, yet sufficient uneasiness 
was excited to make the English ofiicers bear up, 
shake the reefs out of their topsails, and set their 



DEFENCE OF THE ALEXANDER. 345 

studding sails. As the morning advanced, the 
strange ships were observed to be standing after 
them, and as the best chance of saving one or both 
vessels from falling into the enemy's hands, the 
Canada and Alexander, crowding all the sail they 
could possibly carry, each steered a different course. 
Upon this two of the enemy's ships of the line and 
two frigates went in pursuit of the Canada, while 
three ships of the line and two frigates gave chase 
to the Alexander. As her pursuers gained upon 
her, the Alexander commenced firing her stern 
chace-guns, in the hopes, by a lucky shot, of 
disabling their masts or rigging ; but they gTadually 
diminished their distance, and after five hours of 
a most exciting chace, the three ships came up in 
compact order and brought the British ship to close 
action. A spirited resistance had been maintained 
by her, notwithstanding the vast numerical odds, 
for upwards of two hours, when the Canada having 
escaped by superior sailing, her three opponents 
also bore down upon the devoted Alexander, 
which by this time had become a complete wreck. 
For another hour, however, she prolonged the 
unequal contest against her five foes, till at length 
Captain Bligh, his resources failing and all hopes 
of succour having fled, judged it advisable to con- 
sult his oflficers, who after a careful survey and 
examination of the state of their ship, were unani- 
mously of opinion that nothing remained for them 
but to surrender. "Then, and not till then," 
writes Captain Bligh, '' painful to relate, I ordered 



346 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

the colours to be struck ;" and the British yielded 
to their republican foes. Their loss in killed and 
wounded did not exceed 40, a number very dispro- 
portionate to the length of the engagement and 
the odds against which it was maintained ; but it 
may perhaps be accounted for by the desire of the 
French to avoid seriously injuring what they might 
have considered a certain prize, and who therefore 
aimed solely at the sails and rigging to prevent her 
escape from inevitable capture. The French loss 
must have been much more severe, for the whole 
squadron was obliged to quit their cruising ground 
and return to Brest, from which port they had only 
recently sailed, for the purpose of refitting. 

The gallantry displayed by their captives does not 
seem to have won from their victors the consideration 
usually shown by a chivalrous foe to defeated anta- 
gonists, and the treatment of their prisoners by the 
French republican authorities was very disgraceful 
to a civilized country. After they had been landed, 
officers and men shared the same lot ; they were 
denied the commonest rations of provisions, and re- 
duced to starvation. A wretched dog that had crept 
into their cells was killed, and his head alone sold for 
a dollar to satisfy the cravings of hunger. A prisoner, 
in a state of delirium, threw himself into the well 
within the prison walls, and his dead body, after 
lying some time, was taken out ; but no other water 
allowed to the people to drink. An English ladj^- 
and her daughters, confined along with the men, 
had no separate apartment, and all their privacy 



THE SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG. 347 

was supplied by the generous commiseration of the 
sailors, who, standing side by side close together, 
with their backs towards their fair fellow captives, 
formed a temporary screen while they changed their 
garments. French authors have indulged in invec- 
tives against the treatment of French prisoners in 
England ; but the worst that has been urged against 
us as a nation is, that our prisoners were confined 
in crowded places and under very rigorous disci- 
pline ; to which the best answer is, that we had no 
fortified towns or garrisons within which they could 
be restrained with safety to ourselves and show of 
liberty to them, and we were consequently com- 
pelled to confine vast numbers in insufficient places 
of security. Here again we are able to retort upon 
our enemy, for they alone objected to our oft- 
repeated propositions of an exchange of prisoners, 
whereby our over-loaded prisons would have been 
relieved, and many a breaking heart restored to 
home and country, who in consequence of this bar- 
barous policy dragged out the best years of life 
within the walls of a prison or the narrow precincts 
of a hulk. 



THE SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG, 1758. 

At the siege of Louisbourg, under Admiral 
Boscawen and General Amherst, occurred the first 
of those cutting-out expeditions, several of which I 
have had occasion to narrate, and which, while it was 
the forerunner of numerous similar attacks which 



348 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARINCx. 

^ — i . _^ 

have been already detailed, and perchance was the 
exciting cause to other such exploits, has never 
been surpassed in daring and brilliancy of execution. 
Afterthe siege had lasted about a month, and when 
from various accidents the enemy's naval force in the 
harbour had been reduced to two ships of the line, 
la Prudente and le Bienfaisant, the Admiral de- 
termined to take or destroy them by a night attack. 
For this service, about noon on the 25th July, two 
boats, a barge and pinnace or cutter, from every 
ship in the fleet, manned with their proper crews, 
amounting in all to 600 men, and fully armed, 
rendezvoused at the Admiral's ship. From thence, 
in order to avoid exciting the attention of the 
garrison, they were detached by two or three at a 
time, the Rear- Admiral's ship lying at the mouth of 
the harbour, where, when night fell, they were 
arranged in two divisions under the command of 
the two senior masters and commanders in the 
fleet, viz. Captains Laforey and Balfour. In this 
order they put off about twelve o'clock, and taking 
advantage of the foggy darkness of the night and 
observing a strict silence, they paddled into the 
harbour of Louisbourg unperceived either by the 
island battery, which they were obliged to approach 
very near to, or by the two men-of-war that rode at 
their anchors at no great distance from them. The 
assailants were under no apprehension of being per- 
ceived or molested by the garrison itself, not only 
on account of the great distance, but because 
measures had been preconcerted for opening a fire 



THE SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG. 349 

from all the British batteries, in order to draw off 
the enemy's attention from the real point of attack. 
Besides, the besieged themselves left nobody an 
opportunity of hearing any noise, for having in the 
daytime observed the scaling ladders and numerous 
ostentatious preparations for the feigned attack, 
they were under strong apprehensions of an attempt 
at an escalade, and consequently kept up a brisk 
fire of musketry from the ramparts during the 
whole time, with the design, if possible, of deterring 
the besiegers from such an attempt, by showing 
that they were well prepared to meet it and on their 
guard at all the points open to attack. During the 
period of seeming security obtained by these pre- 
cautions, the bold stratagem of the boats for sur- 
prising their powerful foe was attended with every 
circumstance favourable to secure success. After 
pushing far up the harbour, so as to place the 
objects of attack between themselves and its mouth, 
and by this means throwing the foe, who would, of 
course, only expect their assailants from seaward, 
off their guard, the boats took a sweep towards that 
part where the commanding officers, who had before 
well reconnoitred their position, knew the two ships 
were, and presently came upon them. Each di- 
vision of boats was no sooner within sight of the 
allotted object of their respective attack — Captain 
Laforey's of la Prudente, and Captain Balfour, of 
le Bienfaisant — than the sentinels on board, havinof 
hailed them in vain, commenced firing upon them, 
when each commander ordered his boats to give way 



350 DEEDS OF NAVAL DABING. 

alongside the respective ships, and to board them 
with all the expedition and good order they could 
observe. The boats' crews, now no longer able to 
contain themselves after their long-enforced silence, 
gave loud cheers, and pulling up alongside, followed 
their brave leaders with the most intrepid activity 
and boarded the ships in an instant, and simul- 
taneously on each bow, quarter, and gangway. 
After very little resistance from the surprised and 
terrified crews, they found themselves in possession 
of two fine ships, one of 74 and one of 64 guns, with 
the loss of very few seamen and but one officer. 

The garrison was by this time sufficiently 
alarmed on all sides; the noise and huzzas of the 
seamen in boarding left no room to doubt that it 
proceeded from the English, added to which the 
direction of the confused sound of voices and sub- 
sequent firing soon led them to suspect the real 
fact : an attempt upon their ships. The successful 
adventurers were employed in securing their pri- 
soners in the ships' holds, and concerting plans for 
removing their prizes out of the enemy's reach, 
when both ships and boats received a furious dis- 
charge of cannon, mortars, and musketry from all 
points whence it could be brought to bear upon 
them. After endeavouring in vain to tow off la 
Prudente, they found she was aground with several 
feet of water in the hold, and nothing therefore 
remained but to set her on fire, in order to prevent 
her being recovered by the enemy ; this was there- 
fore done with all expedition, leaving alongside her 



THE SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG. 851 

a large schooner and her own boats, in order that 
her people might escape to the shore, which was at 
no great distance. The boats from la Prudente 
now joined those which had attacked le Bienfaisant, 
and helped to tow her off in triumph from the 
midst of the formidable fire opened upon them 
by the mortified enemy. In this they succeeded 
without much further loss, aided by a little breeze, 
which just then sprung up, and when once without 
range of the enemy's guns, they rested from their 
arduous labour and secured their prize till daylight, 
congratulating each other on their success a,nd safety 
in this hazardous enterprise. 

A contemporary writer sums up the description 
of this attack in the following words : — 

" The capture of these two ships by our fleet's 
boats on this memorable occasion, as it must be a 
lasting indelible honour to the vigilance and activity 
of those who projected, and to the bravery as well 
as conduct of those who executed this bold design, 
will also be a new and perhaps a reasonable con- 
viction to the whole world that however arduous, 
however apparently impracticable, any purposed 
naval attempt may be, the English seamen are not 
to be deterred from it by any prospect of difficulty 
or danger, but will exert themselves as far as men 
can do and at least deserve success, when led on to 
it by such as are worthy to command them." The 
action commenced on the evening of the 25th July, 
and the Post Commissions of Captains Laforey and 
Balfour bear the date of the 26th. 



352 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 



DEFENCE OF THE PULTENEY. 

The Straits of Gibraltar, the scene of English 
prowess and endurance, in the month of January 
1743 afforded one of those spectacles so gratifying 
to the British garrison and inhabitants of the Rock, 
and so humbling to our Spanish foes, which have 
been repeated more than once in subsequent wars, 
within sight of its^ castellated heights. The Pul- 
teney, a large brigantine, with 16 carriage guns, 
commanded by Captain James Purcell, which had 
been cruising in and about the Straits' mouth for 
some time, was seen from the town, standing into 
the bay from the west, with little or no wind to 
help her progress. While the spectators amongst 
the garrison were watching her movements, they 
soon perceived that she had been also observed by 
their vigilant foes at Algesiras, on the opposite 
side of the bay, and two great Spanish zebecs, each 
carrying 120 men, with 12 carriage guns, crept out 
from the shore, urged by the strong arms of their 
numerous oarsmen, and looking upon the brigan- 
tine, now lying almost becalmed, as their own. 
Favoured by the current which ran strongly in their 
favour, and propelled by the sturdy rowers, the zebecs 
soon came up with their expected prize. Captain 
Purcell, although he had only 42 men in all on board, 
and of those, three wounded in an action which had 
occurred a few days before, finding his officers and 
men animated with the best spirit, and determined 
to stand by him in his defence, resolved to main- 



BEFEXCE OF THE PULTENEY. 353 

tain the honour of his commission and flag to the 
last necessity. After discharging a few single guns 
the Spaniards came sufficiently near to hail the 
Pulteney by her name, and the Captain by his, 
(both being well known upon the coast of Spain,) 
entreating him. to strike, and avoid the unnecessary 
effusion of blood, or that otherwise they would give 
no quarter. These threats were answered by the 
guns, and so the engagement commenced, which, 
for the time it lasted, was as warm as perhaps ever 
was fought, where there was so great a disparity of 
force. The Spaniards made three attempts to 
board, but Captain Purcell always prudently re- 
serving half his broadside, the Spaniards never 
had the courage to go through with it, and by that 
means exposed themselves so much, and were so 
disabled, particularly in the last attempt, that they 
could stand it no longer, but made off with their 
oars towards Malaga. The gallant Purcell still 
firing and endeavouring to pursue them, but there 
being no wind, and the sweeps of his brigantine of 
little use, the flying enemy was soon out of his 
reach. 

The engagement lasted an hour and three 
quarters, the Pulteney having but one man shot 
through the body, and five more very much 
wounded ; but what is most remarkable, every 
man on board was shot through his clothes. The 
enemy's loss is conjectured to have been very 
great, or they would not have fled so precipitately 
from a vessel which they came out with a resolu- 

2 A 



354 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEING. 

tion to take, and a deserter, who came into the 
garrison some days after, made a statement* which 
exceeded all expectation. The Pulteney's sails 
and rigging were completely destroyed, and some 
9-pounders went through her hull and masts. 

While the victorious ship lay becalmed after 
their lengthened struggle, several boats from the 
garrison went out to her and towed her in in a 
species of triumph. Many hundreds had witnessed 
the unequal contest, and so high was the sense 
entertained by the garrison of the merit of the 
action that the governor and oflScers subscribed for 
and presented a handsome piece of plate, with a 
suitable inscription, to the gallant Captain, and 
the merchants and other inhabitants did the same, 
while the ship's company each received from the 
same parties presents of sums of money. 



SALTED HEADS. 



I find many notices in our earlier annals of 
extraordinary advantages obtained by English ships 
over preponderating Turkish forces ; many of them 
no doubt are apocryphal, but others at all events 
possess some portion of truth, and perhaps are but 
little more marvellous than the action in our own 
times of the Seahorse frigate with the Baddere 
Jaffere and another ship, in which, after a shaip 

^ Not given in the report of the action. 



SALTED HEADS. 355 



night attack of some hours, the frigate succeeded in 
capturing her foes, one of far superior force to her- 
self, with the small loss of 5 killed and 10 wounded, 
while the predestinarian followers of the Prophet 
lost the amazing number of 165 killed and 195 
wounded. The almost incredible narrative which 
follows is related by the Earl of Castlemain, in his 
account of the war between the Turks and Ve- 
netians ; and the hero of it is supposed to have 
been a son or near relative of Sir Hugh Middleton, 
whose more peaceful struggles with, not on, the 
watery element, ended in preserving his name to 
modern times as one of the greatest benefactors to 
our metropolis. His relative's less known a.nd less 
bloodless achievements will fill one of my pages 
with, I hope, some amusement to my readers. 

" Among the English that fought bravely Captain 
Thomas Middleton (who had his ship hired in his 
service) did a most prodigious action. It happened 
that the Admiral, intending a design against 
the Dardanelles, put Middleton in so desperate a 
place that he Avas in danger from land to be sunk 
at every shot. He advised the commander of it, 
and withal told him that the peril of himself and 
ship did not so much trouble him as to be set 
where it was impossible for him to offend the 
enemy. Having no answer, or at best a bad one, 
and seeing it could not prejudice the fleet, he drew 
off a little the vessel (his only livelihood) from the 
needless danger it was in. When the danger was 
over they dismissed him (in a council of war) with 

2 a2 



356 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

the title of coward, and all the soldiers being taken 
away he was left only with some fifty English to 
return home, or whither else he pleased. He had 
not parted long from the Armata, but in a stark 
calm met with twenty-five sail, of which eighteen 
were the best gallies the great Turk could make 
in all his fleet. These crying out in derision that 
they would eat English beef for dinner, fell upon 
him, wanting no assurance, being assisted with the 
stillness of the air and their own strength and 
number. But for all this confidence they missed 
their aim, for after a long and sharp encounter, the 
two bassas that commanded were killed, with 1500 
to accompany them, and besides the many that 
were wounded ; the whole squadron was so shat- 
tered that they had hardly any oars to get off, and 
were all unfit to serve at least for that year. The 
Captain had neither wind, sails, nor tackle to follow 
them ; but with much ado he yet afterwards came 
safe to Candie, and there presented to the General 
a whole ton of salted heads of those he had killed 
in their own boarding. His excellency was asto- 
nished at the thing, and after all the caresses 
imaginable, he acquainted the senate with it, who, 
with universal consent, ordered him a chain and 
medal of gold as a testimony of their high esteem 
and his own commendable valour. Middleton 
afterwards died on his journey home, leaving a son 
who commands a ship here, and is very well 
esteemed by all the nobility for his resolution and 
conduct. The sailor's pecuUar fancy for salting 



FIRST OF JUNE, 1666. 357 

his victims' heads at first thought appears very 
unaccountable, but when it is borne in mind that 
the Turks were looked upon by all dwellers on the 
shores of the Mediterranean, and not without 
justice, as little better than brute beasts, upon 
whose destruction a price was set, the riddle is ex- 
plained, for, no doubt, Captain Middleton only 
wished to preserve them from decay until he 
should reach a port in which he could find a pro- 
fitable market for his goods." 



FIRST OF JUNE, 1666. 



Many instances of gallantry were displayed dur- 
ing the stubborn sea-fight between the Eng- 
lish and Dutch naval forces, the former under 
Monk, Duke of Albemarle, and the latter com- 
manded by De Ruyter and Tromp, which lasted, 
four days from the 1st of June, ] 666, with varying 
fortune, both parties claiming the victory, and of 
which the Pensioner De Witt, who was himself a 
sharer in the engagement, remarked, " If the Eng- 
lish are beaten, their defeat did them more honour 
than their former victories, and all the Dutch had 
discovered was, that Englishmen might be killed, 
and English ships burnt, but that English courage 
was invincible." The reader's attention is drawn, 
however, more particularly to the action of Sir 
John Harman, who commanded the Henry. His 
ship being surrounded and assailed from all quar- 



358 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARIXG. 

ters by the Zealand squadron, Admiral Evertzen, 
who commanded it, hailed and offered him quarter, 
to which this brave oflScer replied, " No, for it is 
not come to that yet." His next broadside killed 
the Dutch Admiral, by which means their whole 
squadron was thrown into confusion, and obliged 
to quit the Henry. Three fire-ships were now 
sent to burn her ; one of them, grappled her star- 
board quarter, but the smoke was too thick to dis- 
cern where the grappling-irons had hooked until 
the blaze burst out, when the boatswain of the 
Henry flinging himself on board the fire-ship 
amidst smoke and flame, as if incapable of fear, 
discovered and cut off the match from the com- 
bustibles in the hold, and returned safe on board, 
having first disengaged the irons. Scarcely v^^as 
this effected before another fire-ship boarded her on 
the larboard side, and the sails and rigging taking 
fire, destruction seemed inevitable, and several of 
the crew threw themselves into the sea : upon 
which Sir John Harman drew his sword, and 
threatened to kill any who should attempt to quit 
the ship, a threat which had the effect of making 
the men return to their duty and assist in quench- 
ing the flames. 

The exertions at length of the remaining crew 
extinguished the flames. Sir John Harman, al- 
though his leg was broken, continued on deck giv- 
ing directions, and sank another fire-ship which 
was bearing down upon him. In this crippled 
state he got into Harvdch and repaired the ship's 



SOLEBAY FIGHT. 359 



damage, in time to be at sea and share in the 
following actions. 

In the same engagement Admiral Sir George 
Ayscue ran his ship upon the Galloper shoal, where 
she was surrounded by the Dutch fleet and taken. 
The capture of an English admiral caused great 
exultation among the Dutch, and has been vul- 
garly assigned as the reason why the English do 
not wear the Red flag at the main. The fact, how- 
ever, of Sir George Ayscue having only been ad- 
miral of the White at the time of his capture, as 
well as that the Union Jack has always been the 
distinguishing flag of the red squadron, negatives 
this fable. 

In this same action Vice- Admiral Berkeley, when 
no longer able to make resistance, was so obstinately 
bent on maintaining his honour that he would take 
no quarter, and when the enemy's boarders had 
carried his ship, having been desperately wounded 
with a musket-bullet in his throat, he retired into 
his cabin, where he was discovered by the victors 
la-id at length on the table, dead, and covered Avith 
the blood which had flowed from his wounds. 



SOLEBAY FIGHT. 



The battle of Southwold Bay, more generally 
known as Solebay fight, was marked in naval annals 
by the death in action of the sea ofiicer highest in 
rank of any that have fallen in battle : we mean 



360 DEEDS OF l^AVAL DARING. 

Edward Montagu Earl of Sandwich and Vice- Ad- 
miral of England. This officer, who is described 
by contemporaries as a man of great courage and 
of that kind of merit which endeared him to the 
sailors, in May, 1672, had his flag flying in the 
Eoyal James, a fine ship of 100 guns and about 
800 men, as second in command to James Duke of 
York. His Royal Highness's fleet had been col- 
lected on the breaking out of the third and last Dutch 
war, and had anchored on the 27th of May in 
Southwold Bay, for the avowed purpose of taking 
in water, although it has been alleged rather with 
the view of celebrating the festivities that would 
attend the anniversary of King Charles's restoration 
on the 29th of the same month. While thus lying 
at anchor, Lord Sandwich it appears was rendered 
anxious by the thickness of the weather and the 
ignorance that existed, as to the whereabouts of the 
Dutch fleet, at that time known to be at sea ; and 
in a council that was held he urged the danger that 
there was of their being surprised in the position they 
were then in, and strongly advised that they should 
weigh anchor and get out to sea. The Duke of 
York, whose predilections were for the shore, made 
an answer, it is said, insinuating that the Earl 
spoke out of fear, and the latter certainly con- 
sidered the remark as a reflection on his personal 
courage. The Duke's opinion, however, prevailed 
at the council board, and the preparations for fes- 
tivities were all in progress, when on the morning 
of the 28th Lord Sandwich's prognostics proved 



SOLEBAY FIGHT. 361 



correct, and the Dutch fleet under De Euyter came 
down upon the British fleet, which were quite un- 
prepared for the onset. So pressing ^vas the occa- 
sion that many of the EngUsh captains were obhged 
to cut their cables, but the blue squadron (that of 
the Earl of Sandwich) was, however, out first, and 
in good order, and the Vice- Admiral, knowiug how 
much depended on checking the enemy's advance 
so as to allow time for the red and white squadrons 
to get into order of battle, fell furiously on the 
advancing Dutch ships under Admiral Van Ghent. 
He succeeded in his object, but at the expense of 
his own life, for the Royal James, surrounded by 
Dutch ships, had to maintain a most unequal con- 
test. She disabled seven ships of the line, and 
repelled three fire-ships, by which time most of her 
men were killed, and her hull so pierced with shot, 
that it was impossible to carry her off. At this 
juncture Lord Sandwich might have been relieved 
by his Vice Admiral, Sir Joseph Jordan, but had tlie 
mortification of seeing that officer sail bj^ heedless 
of the condition in which he lay. Upon this he 
said to those about him, " There is nothing left 
for us now but to defend the ship to the last man ;" 
and those who knew him readily understood that 
by the last man he meant himself. A fourth fire- 
ship had now grappled him, and the Admiral 
begged his captain, Sir K. Haddock, and the sur- 
viving crew to take to the boats and save them- 
selves, he himself, apprehensive of being captured 
in the boats and made a spectacle to the Dutch, 



362 DEEDS OF IS^AVAL DARING. 

determined to remain and perish with his ship. 
Many of the sailors y/ould not quit their admiral, 
and endeavoured at his command to extinguish 
the flames ; but their efforts were unavailing, and 
the ship blowing up about noon, the Earl fell a 
noble sacrifice to injured feelings and a high prin- 
ciple of honour. His Lordship's body was found 
floating at sea about a fortnight after the engage- 
ment, and was recognised by the Order of the 
Garter, which he v/ore upon his coat. It was con- 
veyed by the King's commands to London, and 
honoured with a public funeral of the greatest 
magnificence in Westminster Abbey, and was in- 
terred in the Duke of Albemarle's vault. The 
Earl of Sandvdch, who had been made a Knight 
of the Garter before his elevation to the peerage, 
was the last commoner before Sir Kobert Walpole 
who was honoured with that distinction. Friends 
and foes united in this hero's praise, and he left 
behind him the fame of extraordinary feats, courage, 
fidelity, and affability ~a man equally brave and 
honourable, and of a most engaging behaviour, and 
one who had rendered his country the greatest 
services, not only in the field, but in the cabinet. 



POOE JACK SPRATT. 



The Battle of Trafalgar, the brightest gem in 
the mural crown of England, was accompanied by 
many brilliant achievements, forming for it an 



POOR JACK SPRATT. 363 

appropriate setting, and from amongst these the 
action of a junior officer* of the Defia.nce, is well 
worthy selection for the daring and hardihood 
which it exhibits. 

After the Defiance and the French TAigle had 
been for some time hotly engaged, and when the 
fire of the latter had slackened so much as to make 
it evident, although her colours were still flying, 
that her power of further resistance was well nigh 
gone, Captain Durham, anxious to stop the de- 
struction of human life, was desirous of communi- 
cating with the enemy's ship, but as it was a dead 
calm, and all his boats had been shot through, 
he found it impossible to accomplish his wishes^ 
although the two ships were within pistol shot of 
each other. In this emergency Mr. James Spra;tt, 
master's mate, came forward, and volunteered to 
swim on board the Aigle, which Captain Durham 
at first refused to sanction, as being far too ha- 
zardous an enterprise, and it was not until Mr. 
Spratt had strongly pressed it, that he gave his 
consent: when that oflScer calling out ''Boarders 
follow me," and placing his cutlass between his 
teeth, and his battle-axe in his belt, leaped 
overboard, without waiting to see whether he 
was accompanied or not, and swam towards the 
enemy's ship. He was soon seen from the 
Defiance climbing up the rudder chains of the 
French 74, and entering her stern port alone, but 
undaunted. From the gun-room he contrived to 

^ Now Commander James Spratt. 



364 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

fight his way through the decks to the poop, where 
he was charged by three grenadiers with fixed 
bayonets ; avoiding their first rush with great 
dexterity, he placed two of them hors de combat 
with his weapon, and grappling the third fell 
with him from the poop to the quarter-deck, the 
Frenchman broke his neck, but Mr. Spratt escaped 
uninjured. By this time a slight air had enabled 
the Defiance to close with her antagonist, and the 
boarders, at first repulsed, had succeeded in esta- 
blishing themselves on the French ship's decks ; 
joining his shipmates in the desperate hand-to- 
hand conflict raging on the quarter-deck, Mr. 
Spratt had the happiness of saving a French 
officer's life from the fury of his assailants. Scarcely 
had he discharged this act of humanity before 
another grenadier endeavoured to run him through 
with his bayonet ; the thrust was parried, and the 
Frenchman then presented his musket at Mr. 
Spratt's breast, who succeeded in striking it down 
with his cutlass, and the contents passed through 
his right leg, shattering both bones ; he immedi- 
ately retreated between two of the guns, and con- 
tinued to defend himself from his assailant and 
two others, who had joined him, until relieved by 
the approach of some of his own party. Captain 
Durham, in a private letter, states that Mr. Spratt 
hauled down the French colours, and that he 
afterwards saw him in the quarter galley of the 
Aigie holding up his shattered leg, and calling out 
" Poor Jack Spratt is done up at last/' Mr. Spratt 



THE DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE'S ESCAPE. 365 

was not however quite done up, for after seventeen 
weeks confinement in Gibraltar Hospital he re- 
turned to England, and was presented by Captain 
Durham with a lieutenant's commission, which had 
been placed at his disposal by the Admiralty, in 
testimony of the sense he entertained of the daring 
courage he had exhibited in striking the French 
colours as above described. 



THE DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE'S ESCAPE. 

The love of glory, in addition to that of country, 
is generally an incentive to deeds of high enter- 
prise in the stern contest of real war. Since the 
days of chivalry, when knight encountered knight 
in the tournament, bright eyes have seldom rained 
their influence, and adjudged the prize to the 
victor; but in one instance in naval warfare such 
has been the case, and the eyes that then looked 
on were among the brightest that graced the British 
court, and had sufficient influence to obtain the 
meed of promotion for their defender. Whether 
the same sparks that the Westminster coalheaver 
solicited to light his pipe, kindled the matches that 
fired the British guns, must be decided by poets, 
while I must descend to plain prose. In the year 
1799 the beautiful Duchess of Devonshire had 
taken a passage from the continent, with her sister 
and other persons of distinction, in a packet con- 
voyed by the Fly, a sloop of war of 14 guns, com- 



366 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

pfianded by Captain Garner. On their passage 
tliey were cliased by two Frencb cutter sloops of 
war of 20 guns each. Captain Garner, no doubt 
sensible of the additional glory of protecting his 
beautiful charge, directed the master of the packet 
to make the best of his way to Harwich, while he 
brought his own ship to and determined to abide 
the attack of a force so far superior. The two 
cutters were soon upon him, but his officers and 
men, seemingly inspired with the same gallantry 
that actuated their commander, fought like lions ; 
after repeated attacks the enemy was beaten off 
with considerable loss, and the little sloop escorted 
her charge in triumph into Harwich. Naval bio- 
graphers say nothing of Captain Garner. Charnock 
does not even name him ; and the action, and the 
beautiful Duchess's narrow escape, are only briefly 
noted in the journals of the day. Captain Garner 
appears, however, from official records, to have 
been promoted for this service, and to have died 
in the following year, and we learn from other 
sources that the Duke of Devonshire presented 
him with a handsome service of plate. 



CAPTAIN BO WEN, 

More commonly known in the service as '^' Terpsi- 
chore Bowen," from the circumstance of his having, 
while in command of that frigate, taken three 
enemy's frigates of very superior force, and, al- 
though all are famous actions, perhaps distinguished 



TERPSTCHOEE BOWEN. 367 

himself more particularly in his engagement with 
and capture of the Mahonessa, a Spanish frigate, 
the first captured after the declaration of war, and at 
a time his own crew were considerably reduced by 
sickness, and the vessel with which he risked the 
action was supposed to be almost within hail of a 
powerful fleet of her own countrymen. Captain 
Bowen's confidence, however, in the tried valour of 
his gallant crew, w^as amply repaid ; and the par- 
ticulars of the contest, with its splendid result, we 
think, cannot be better given tha.n in the y/ords of 
the principal actor, in his official despatch, which 
is as follows : — 

"On the morning of the ISth October, 1796, 
at daylight, we discovered- a frigate to windward 
standing towards us ; about eight I could perceive 
her making every preparation for battle, and she 
was then apparently in chase of us ; our situation 
altogether was such as to prevent my being over- 
desirous of engaging her : out of our small comple- 
ment (of 215), we had left 30 at the hospital, and 
we had more than that number still on board on 
our sick and convalescent lists, all of whom were 
either dangerously ill or excessively weak. We 
were scarcely out of sight of the spot where we 
knew the Spanish fleet had been cruising only two 
days before ; and, in fact, we had stood on to look 
for them, with a view of ascertaining their move- 
ments ; a small Spanish vessel, which we conjec- 
tured to be a sort of tender, was passing us, steer- 
ing towards Carthagena, so that I could hardly 



368 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARmG. 

flatter myself with being able to bring the frigate 
off in the event of a victory, or even of escaping 
myself if disabled. On the other hand, it appeared 
that nothing but a flight, and superior sailing, could 
enable me to avoid an action, and to do that from 
a frigate apparently not much superior to us, except 
in bulk, would have been committing the character 
of one of his Majesty's ships more than I could 
bring myself to resolve on. I therefore continued 
standing on without any alteration of course. 
Having, -with infinite satisfaction and comfort to 
myself, commanded the Terpsichore's crew for two 
years and a half, through a pretty considerable 
variety of services, I well knew the veteran stuff 
w^hich I had still left in health to depend upon 
for upholding the character of British seamen, and 
I felt my mind at ease as to the termination of any 
action with the frigate in sight only. At half-past 
nine o'clock she came within hail, and hauled her 
wind on our weather-beam, and I conceived she 
only waited to place herself to advantage, and to 
point her guns with exactness ; and being myself 
unwilling to lose the position we were then in, I or- 
dered one gun to be fired as a trier of her inten- 
tion. It was so instantaneously returned, and 
followed up by her whole broadside, that I am 
confident they must have done it at the sight of 
our flash ; the action of course went on, a.nd we 
soon discovered that her people would not, or 
could not, resist our fire. At the end of about an 
hour and forty minutes, during which time we had 



TERPSICHORE bowe:n^ 369 

twice wore, and employed about twenty of the last 
minutes in chase — she surrendered. At this period 
she appeared almost entirely disabled, and we had 
drawn close up alongside, with every gun well 
charged and well pointed. It was, nevertheless, 
with considerable difficulty that I prevailed on the 
Spanish commander to decline the receiving of 
such a broadside, by submitting ; and from every- 
thing I have since heard, the personal courage, 
conduct, and zeal of that officer, whose name is 
Don Thomas Agalde, was such during the action, 
notwithstanding the event of it, as reflect on him 
the greatest honour, and irresistibly impressed on 
my mind the highest admiration of his character. 
After (from the effect of our fire) his boom had 
tumbled down, and rendered his waist- guns un- 
serviceable, all the standing rigging of his lower 
masts shot away, and I believe every running rope 
cut through, and a great number of his people 
killed and wounded, he still persevered, though he 
could rally but few of his men to defend his ship 
almost longer than defence was justifiable. Had 
there been the smallest motion of the sea every 
mast must inevitably have gone by the board." 

Captain Bowen then proceeds to detail his own 
comparatively trifling loss of four wounded and 
none killed, and his masts, sails, and rigging rather 
cut Lip ; while the Mahonessa had thirty killed 
and as many wounded, in addition to the damage 
detailed above. The complement of the Spanish 
ship was 275, against the 215 of the Terpsichore, 

2 B 



370 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

reduced by the 30 absent in hospital, and the hke 
number sick on board. The number and weight 
of guns was also in favour of the Mahonessa. The 
officers of the British frigate are most highly men- 
tioned ; and the Admiralty marked their sense of 
the action by promoting the First Lieutenant, Mr. 
Devonshire, for this service, immediately on the 
receipt of the intelligence. Captain Bowen added 
still further to his laurels in the few succeeding 
months of his short career, which, like that of his 
friend and almost prototjrpe, Captain Faulkner,* 
terminated in the field of battle, for hb fell at the 
unfortunate attack upon Teneriffe, in July, 1797, 
under Lord Nelson, his body being discovered on 
the morning following the assault under those of 
his First Lieutenant and his whole boat's crew, 
who had been his faithful companions in many 
hazardous enterprises, and were now participators 
in his fate, in this the closing scene of his eventful 
life. The immortal Nelson, in reporting his fall, 
added this well-deserved panegyric — " A more en- 



* Captain Bowen, then a lieutenant, had also distinguished himself 
at Martinique under the following circumstances ; — A French frigate, 
the Bienvenu, was lying in the carenage, and supposed to have English 
prisoners on board. Lieutenant Bowen offered to board her, and re- 
lease his countrymen ; and at noon-day he boldly pushed into the 
harbour with his boats, and in spite of the batteries and the fire from 
the frigate he dashed alongside, and took possession of her, making 
the captain, officers, and greater part of the crew prisoners, and 
brought them out in his boats; but there were no Englishmen on 
board. As the frigate's sails were unbent, and it would have been 
a slow operation to tow her out under the heavy fire that was main- 
tained by the batteries, the captors were compelled to relinquish their 
prize, though only for the short time that elapsed before the capitula- 
tion of the island placed her in their hands. 



SIR JOHN HAWKINS. 371 

terprising, able, and gallant oiBcer does not grace 
his Majesty's naval service." Lord St. Vincent 
also spoke of him in equally high terms ; he calls 
him a child of his own, and adds, that ^' he pos- 
sesses the most inexhaustible spirit of enterprise 
and skilful seamanship that can be comprised in 
any human character." 



SIE JOHN HAWKINS. 



The actions of this celebrated Admiral, or, as he 
was termed in the language of that day, General 
Sir John Hawkins, more especially in the West 
Indies, in Mexico, and the Spanish Main, though 
marked with heroism, and a high spirit of en- 
terprise, would, I fear, if tried by the rules of 
modern warfare, be pronounced anything but justi- 
fiable ; indeed the perpetrator of such deeds as were 
then of common occurrence would now quickly 
meet the punishment of a pirate. The cruelty 
practised by the Spaniards on all who fell into 
their hands, may perhaps have called for a similar 
return from those who had seen their shipmates 
and friends the victims of it ; and these foul 
passions, once inflamed and indulged in, the evil 
appetite increased, and tales of horror, which we 
would fain believe to be fabulous, are linked in 
the narrative of these early navigators, with acts 
of courage and daring that merit the highest ad- 
miration. In one of his West Indian voyages, Sir 

2 B 2 



372 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

Jolm, in his own ship, the Jesus, accompanied by 
the Minion, and a little bark, the Judith, of 50 
tons, having experienced some very bad weather, 
was compelled to run into the port of San Juan 
D'Ulloa, which he entered without molestation, 
his ships having been indeed mistaken by the 
authorities of the port for the Spanish fleet, which 
they were daily expecting, nor were they unde- 
ceived until they had actually gone on board. No 
doubt Sir John seized the advantage afforded by 
this unintentional confidence, for the narrative tells 
us that he was allowed to take possession of an 
island in the harbour, and fortify it during his stay, 
which would scarcely have been donehadthe Spanish 
officers not felt themselves in his power. On the fol- 
lowing day, when the expected fleet appeared off the 
port — thirteen great ships — such was the confident 
boldness of the English Admiral, and such the opi- 
nion entertained by Spaniards of their prowess, that 
Hawkins was only prevented by questions of state 
policy from resisting the entry of a fleet so superior, 
and belonging to a friendly power, into one of their 
ov>rn ports, while the Spaniards, on their parts, 
consented to give hostages for the security of 
English ships, as the condition of their being 
allowed to go in. Complimentary salutes were 
exchanged, and vast professions of friendship were 
made, but no real confidence was created. Spanish 
treachery was too well known, and after a few days 
certain suspicious movements made Hawkins send 
his master to the Viceroy to demand an explanation. 



SIR JOHN HAWKINS. 373 

This proceeding seems to have brought matters to 
an issue^ for the master was immediately seized 
and the alarm trumpets sounded ; the English, on 
the fortified island, completely taken by surprise 
by the Spaniards, who, on one excuse or the other, 
had mixed among them in superior numbers, fled 
to their ships at the first onset, but were slain with 
few exceptions. When the trumpet first gave the 
alarm, a Spaniard^ who was in the cabin of the 
Jesus with the Admiral, made an attempt to 
poniard him, but unsuccessfully, and was secured 
and placed in irons ; and at the same moment 300 
Spaniards, who had been concealed in one of their 
ships, which, during the previous show of amity, had 
been moored close alongside, entered on board the 
Minion, whereat the General, who was on board 
the flag-ship, lying on her other side, " with a loud 
and fierce voice, called unto us, ^ God and St. 
George ! Upon these traiterous villains, and rescue 
the Minion;' " and with that the marines and soldiers 
leaped out of the Jesus into the Minion, and beat 
out the Spaniards. The cables were now cut and 
the ships moved to a little distance from the shore, 
but the swarm of hostile ships impeded their 
further progress, and the fight which commenced 
at 10 A.M. lasted until night, the Spaniards los- 
ing 6 ships and 540 men. During the heat of 
the action the General courageously cheered up his 
soldiers and gunners, and called to Samuel his 
page for a cup of beer, who brought it him in a 
silver cup, and he, drinking to all men, willed the 
gunners to stand by their ordnance lustily hke men. 



374 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

He had no sooner set the cup out of his hand but 
a demi-culverin shot struck away the cup and a 
cooper s plane that stood by the mainmast, and ran 
out on the other side of the ship, which nothing dis- 
mayed the General, for he ceased not to encourage, 
saying, " Fear not, for God, who hath preserved 
me from this shot, will also deliver us from these 
traitors and villains." Night at last brought some 
relief, when Hawkins, finding his flag-ship so 
crippled by shot that it would be impossible to 
bring her away, determined to abandon her, and 
placing all her remaining crew on board the 
Minion and Judith, take advantage of the wind 
coming off shore to get out of reach of the enemy's 
shot and put to sea. But he was not able to effect 
his whole object, for the Spaniards, repulsed in 
their several attacks, at length attempted to de- 
stroy their enemy by fire-ships, which bearing 
down upon them, the crew of the Minion set sail 
without waiting for orders, and in such haste, that 
Hawkins and a few men only from the Jesus suc- 
ceeded in reaching her. The bark Judith was in 
this fight commanded by Mr. Francis Drake, 
afterwards Sir Francis Drake, the hero of the 
Armada, and the terror of Spain ; it must have 
been almost his first voyage, and probably he here 
learned that mistrust and horror of Spain and 
Spaniards, that influenced his whole after-life, 
during which he certainly more than repaid his 
enemies in kind as well on the shores of America 
as in Europe. 



THE INTREPID BOATSWAIN. 375 



THE INTREPID BOATSWAIN. 

The fidelity and determined conduct of Mr. 
Gastril, boatswain of the Chesterfield, saved that 
ship when many of his superior officers and the 
majority of the ship's company, had successfully 
plotted to obtain possession of her and turn pirates. 
In October 1748, that ship was lying off Cape- 
Coast Castle, and her Captain, Dudley, was on 
shore, v/hen the lieutenant, Mr. Couchman, taking 
advantage of the Captain's absence, persuaded the 
crew from their allegiance, and hoisted in all the 
boats, in order that the Captain might not be able 
to get on board or communicate with his misguided 
men. In the words of the narrative, which I am 
quoting, Couchman coming from his cabin with a 
drawn sword to the quarter-deck, accompanied by 
the principal mutineers, said, " Here I am, I will 
stand by you while I have a drop of blood in my 
body/' They then gave three huzzas, and threw 
their hats overboard, damning old hats, for they 
would soon get new. •Couchman then sent for the 
boatswain and asked if he would stand by him and 
go with him. He boldly replied, " No," and im- 
plored the Lieutenant to be ruled by reason, and 
consider what he was about Finding soft words 
of no avail with this honest man, Couchman pro- 
ceeded to threaten him, but the boatswain did 
not flinch from his duty, nor would he join 
him in his piratical designs. He was then or- 



376 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

dered into custody, and two sentinels placed over 
him. Couchman next sent for Gilham, the mate, 
and being equally unsuccessful with him, placed 
him in similar custody, as well as five or six others 
of the crew, who openly refused to join him in 
mutiny. During the night they remained in irons, 
and the next day Couchman, undecided whether 
to land them or take them away prisoners, again 
tried by threats and promises to induce the boat- 
swain and mate to sign a paper, and join their 
conspiracy, but received the same answer from both 
that they never would, and would sooner suffer 
death. On leaving the chief cabin the boat- 
swain went into the gunner's cabin, who was sick 
and had been unable to leave it during this event- 
ful crisis. His advice and assistance strengthened 
the resolution of the few loyal men on board, and 
when the boatswain told him that Couchman's 
party had taken possession of all the arms, he said 
he could furnish them with twenty pistols from a 
store which had been overlooked. The six loyal 
men now deliberated as to the best means of re- 
taking the ship from their mutinous comrades, and 
decided on making the attempt that very night. 
At 10 o'clock P.M., while the officers and leading 
mutineers were drinking in the cabin, and the decks 
in charge of those of the crew who had joined them, 
the boatswain proceeded to the forecastle to sound 
such of the men as he suspected of being lukewarm 
in the cause in which they had embarked, and, 
finding about thirty prepared to side with him, he 



THE INTEEPID BOATSWAIN". 377 

disclosed to them his scheme, and the necessity for 
putting it immediately into practice. Accordingly 
he sent for all the irons to the forecastle, and dis- 
tributing the twenty pistols to such of the men as 
he could most depend upon, he stationed three at 
the magazines, leaving those who were unarmed to 
secure the prisoners in irons as they might be sent 
down to them. Having made these dispositions, he 
divided his small company into two parties, who 
were to get stealthily on deck, one by the fore, the 
other by the main hatchway. Their plans were 
completely successful ; the crew on deck were se- 
cured and sent to the forecastle without the least 
noise, and the two parties then joined and went 
directly to the great cabin, where they secured 
Couchman and the other officers and ringleaders 
without difficulty, as they were taken completely 
by surprise, and unarmed. Thus was this in- 
famous scheme frustrated by the intrepidity and 
excellent conduct of one man who set the example 
of resistance to usurped authority, and the ship 
retaken after it had been in possession of the in- 
fatuated insurgents above thirty hours. 



SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 



Sir Humphrey Gilbert, one of the gallant band 
of naval heroes that adorned the golden age of 
Elizabeth's reign, and who added learning and 



378 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

skill to the more common attributes of a high and 
daring spirit, and as his stature was beyond the 
ordinary size, so did he in wisdom and bravery 
exceed most of his compeers. In his Discourse 
on the North-West Passage, of which by the bye, 
he might justly be called the Father, he gives the 
following opinion, which may fairly be taken by 
the young soldier or sailor for his text and guidance 
in the performance of his duty, viz., " He is not 
worthy to live at all who, for fear or danger of 
death, shunneth his countrj^'s service or his own 
honour, since death is inevitable, and the fame of 
virtue immortal/' To Sir Humphrey we are in- 
debted for the settlement of Newfoundland, and that 
valuable branch of commerce, the Cod Fishery, on 
its coasts ; and it was on his return from the formal 
occupation of this colony that his death occurred, 
the manner of which appears to me worthy of nar- 
ration. He had originally left England with five 
ships under his command, the largest of 200 tons, 
and the smallest of 10 tons ; but this last, and the 
Golden Hind of 40 tons, alone remained to him 
when he determined to return. In the present 
day, and even with the additional aids of modern 
science and art, we can hardly comprehend the 
hardihood of marines who trusted themselves on 
voyages of discovery over unknown seas in such 
cockle-shells as those in which the first navigators 
crossed the Atlantic ; and the Squirrel, " The little 
Frigate" of 10 tons, must indeed have been a 
miserable bark. In her he had made most of his 



SIR EUMPHEEY GILBERT. 379 

discoveries on the coavSt, and np the creeks and 
rivers of Newfoundland, and whether it w^as par- 
tiality, caused bv these circumstances, or a deske 
to show that he would not subject others to dangers 
which he would not himself share, he decided on 
returning in her in preference to the Golden Hind, 
which was to accompany him. One reason assigned 
for his continuing in the bark so utterly unfitted for a 
long voyage was, that a report had reached his ears 
that he was afraid ; but it is impossible to conceive 
that a man of his strength of mind and established 
courage would have been affected by an idle 
i^eport. 

There can be no doubt that the higher reason 
was the true one, for, when pressed and entreated 
to take his passage in the Golden Hind, he re- 
plied, '^ I will not forsake my little company going 
homeward, %vith whom I have passed so many 
storms and perils/' The two ships reached the 
latitude of the Azores without adventure, but here 
a violent storm arose, and '^ The little Frigate " 
was observed to be nearly overwhelmed by the 
huge waves. The Hind kept as close to her as she 
possibly could, and from her the General was seen 
sitting abaft with a book in his hand, and, Mr. 
Hayes (Captain of the Hind) says, was heard to 
call out, '• Courage, my lads, we are as near to 
heaven by sea as by land." The same night the 
little Squirrel, and all within her, were swallowed 
up by the ocean, and nothing more was ever heard 
of her, or of her unfoitunate Commander — thus 



DEEDS OF NAVAL DARINO. 



in his death affording an example of resignation 
which he had inculcated in the maxim I have 
already quoted. 



THE HONOUR OF THE FLAG. 

The Syrian campaign of 1840 gave ample evi 
dence that while our fleets were as efficient, and out 
officers and men as skilful and animated with the 
same spirit that had always led the tars of Old 
England to battle and victory, there was no falling 
off in the chivalrous feeling that would brook no 
second place for the flag of their country. The 
scene acted under the walls of Sidon, when the 
fair spirit of amicable rivalry spurred on the naval 
cadets of England and Austria, naturally takes 
the mind back to a similar scene painted by the 
mighty Magician of the North in his Talisman, as 
having occurred in this same holy region, and 
nearly on the same spot ; and we can almost 
picture to ourselves the spirit of the lion-hearted 
Richard, looking down from the grey walls in 
smiling approval of the small scion of his true 
English heart, who thus, unconsciously, was fol- 
lowing in his own steps, and zealously maintaining 
the supremacy of the British flag. The incident 
to which I allude took place at the capture of 
Sidon by Sir Charles Napier, and was by that 
officer deemed worthy of mention in his official 
dispatch. The hero was Mr. James Hunt, a mid- 
shipman of the Stromboli, who was landed with a 



THE HONOUR OF THE FLAG. 381 

party from that ship in conjunction with a force 
from the Austrian frigate Guerriere. The brave 
boy had been entrusted with a colour, and when 
both parties were eagerly pressing on to enter the 
fortress, his shipmates and officers were delighted 
to see him pushing on until at length there was a 
complete race under the enemy's fire between him 
and Don Domenico Chinca, of the Austrian ship, 
for the honour of being first to place the flags of 
their respective countries on the walls of the city, 
in which the English lad, I am proud to add, was 
successful. 

At the attack on the fortress of Gebail, also on 
the same coast, and about the same time, another 
instance occurred of this zealous care for the honour 
of our country's flag, which shows that not only 
the ardent spirit of boyhood, but the matured 
reason of brave men, attaches importance to what 
philosophical utilitarians would look upon as so 
many yards of cloth when weighed against the 
risk of human life. After the attacking party had 
retreated to their boats, a small boat-flag which had 
been planted on a garden wall during the attack on 
the castle, as a signal to the ships, and which had 
been carelessly left by the pilot of the Cyclops, was 
seen by Lieutenant (now Captain) Sydney Grenfell, 
who, accompanied by MacDonald, a seaman of 
the same ship, volunteered to return under the 
enemy's heavy fire and remove it, which they 
succeeded in doing, bringing it off most gallantly 
amidst the cheers from the ships ; thus risking 



382 DEEDS OF NAVAL DARING. 

their lives rather than that the enemy should have 
possessed themselves even accidentally of that em- 
blem of their country's power. 



SIR JOHN BERRY. 



Born of a gentle family, in Devonshire, the hero 
of our anecdote found himself at the age between 
manhood and boyhood suddenly thrown upon his 
own resources, and left to struggle against poverty 
and want. His father, a clergyman, who had ad- 
hered to the fortunes of Charles I., was deprived 
by the Puritans of his living, as well as his pro- 
perty, and died broken-hearted, leaving a widow 
and nine children, of whom John Berry was the 
second son. This youth, at the age of 17, bound 
himself apprentice to a shipmaster at Plymouth, 
and while in his employment experienced nothing 
but misfortune ; at length he went to London, 
about the time of the Restoration, and got the 
appointment of boatswain on board the King's 
Ketch Swallow, commanded by Captain Ensome, 
about to proceed to the West Indies. The 
ship arrived at Jamaica after several misadven- 
tures, and there Berry had the good fortune 
to find in the governor. Sir Thomas Muddiford, a 
native also of Devon, who took him by the hand 
and advanced him to the rank of Lieutenant. 
Several outrageous piracies having occurred, and 
one almost immediately before the Swallow's 



SIR JOHN BERRY. 



arrival, upon a vessel belonging to a Mr. Peach, 
the Governor, having refitted her and put addi- 
tional men on board, despatched that ship in pur- 
suit of the reputed pirate. 

In three weeks after they sailed from Jamaica, 
the pirate was discovered at anchor, off the island 
of Hispaniola. He had about sixty men and carried 
twenty guns. Captaiu Ensome having considered 
the enemy's strength, and compared it with his own, 
called up all his men, and addressed them in these 
words — '' Gentlemen, the blades we are to attack 
are men-at-arms, old buccaneers, and superior to 
us in number, and in the force of their ship, and 
therefore I would have your opmion whether " — 
" Sir," interrupted Lieutenant Berry, " we are 
men-at-arms too, and which is more, honest men, 
and fight under the King's commission, and if you 
have no stomach for fighting, be pleased to walk 
down into your cabin." The crew applauded this 
motion, and declared, one and all, for Lieutenant 
Berry, who undertook the affair mth great dis- 
advantage. 

The pirate rode at anchor to the windward, by 
which the Swallow was obliged to make two trips 
under her lee, in which she received two broad- 
sides and two volleys of small shot, without re- 
turning a gun. Mr. Berry then boarded her on 
the bow, pouring in his broadside, which killed 
the pirate and twenty-two men on the spot ; they 
then boarded her, and fought their way to the 
mainmast, where they called to the doctor and his 



384 DEEDS OF NAVAL DAEING. 

mate to get overboard/^' and hang by the rudder, 
which they did ; and soon after the pirate was 
taken, having only seven men left, and those all 
wounded, though they lived long enough to be 
hanged afterwards in Jamaica, and what is still 
more remarkable, there was nobody killed on board 
the Swallow but the boatswain's mate. 

On their return to Jamaica Captain Ensome 
brought his Lieutenant to a court - martial for 
usurping the Captain's office, but upon a full 
hearing of the matter the court declared he had 
done his duty, and ordered the Captain to take 
him on board again and live peaceably with him. 

On a subsequent occasion Mr. Berry, then a 
Commodore, was going into action with nine ships 
against a far superior force, when one of his best 
ships blew up. Seeing that the ardour of his men 
was rather damped by this accident, he addressed 
them, saying — ^' Now you have seen an English 
ship blow up, let us try if we can't blow up a 
Frenchman. There they are, boys, and if we 
don't beat them they will beat us." The action 
ended in Commodore Berry blowing up one of the 
Frenchmen. The rest of the fleet escaped. 

Prince sums up his account of this Worthy of 
Devon with the following panegyric : — -'' As for 
this gentleman's character, so far as it relates to 
courage and conduct in sea-affairs, we have already 



* The reason for this consideration appears to ha^e been, that these 
two men were influential in saving the lives of Mr. Peach and his 
crew when the other pirates were about to murder them. 



SIR JOHN BERRY. 385 



had a full and fair description ; but there was 
something yet more considerable in him, and of 
truer honour, that he was a good Christian and a 
devout son of the Church of England by law esta- 
blished. One who did not think the least part of 
true valour lay in defying God or blaspheming his 
name, or his word, but that the truest instance 
thereof was to subdue those potent enemies of our 
souls, the world, the flesh, and the devil. Neither 
did he suffer his zeal to become eccentric, and run 
a-meddling after every ignis fatuus of a new light 
that was hung out, but in the orthodox way of our 
Established Church he chose to worship the God 
of his fathers." 



THE END. 



LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET, 
AND CHARING CROSS. 



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